


Fire and Reign

by hurricxneamelia



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: The Ladies-in-Wait might make an appearance later on, WITCHES AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-05-13 10:09:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19249039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hurricxneamelia/pseuds/hurricxneamelia
Summary: Six meets American Horror Story Coven-Style Witches.Witches in London are dropping like flies, and the man responsible is angling for the throats of one specific coven. The coven led by Catherine of Aragon.





	1. Vitalum Vitalis

**Author's Note:**

> This is a long chapter, and the others might not be 7500 words but nonetheless enjoy loves. I'm going to do my best to consistently update this.

The incident in the bar had fogged over in Katherine’s mind. She only remembered his face and his name: Henry. She remembered the beer glass flying across the room of its own accord, and nailing him in the side of the head, just as she’d willed it to happen. In the moment, the sheer oddity of the situation hadn’t registered due to the menacing, coercive man who hadn’t taken no for an answer. 

Next, she remembered being kicked out of the bar along with the man for making a disturbance. That’s where things got far too vivid. Instead of leaving, the man had grabbed her from behind. Katherine fought, kicking against him and elbowing him, but Henry didn’t let go. He won the fight the minute his hand made its way to her neck and pressed down. Wherever he pressed sent Katherine’s body into shock at first then straight into a state of unconsciousness. 

When she opened her eyes again, she was no longer in the parking lot of the pub. Fear coursed through her veins as the smell of nature hit her nostrils and she could hear no cars. She could also recognize the figure as the man in the pub lot. A rag was tied around her head and in her mouth, inhibiting speech. Grass scratched at her arms as Henry dragged her, her hands restrained by a rope. The rough ground tore scratches in Katherine’s legs and her arms ached from being dragged. He paused for a second and that was her chance. With as much strength as she could manage in her current position, Katherine writhed in her ties, and an unsuspecting Henry dropped her wrists. As a result, her back and head smacked the cold earth and a groan of pain left her lips. As she attempted to recover and get up, Henry got his bearings. 

Ultimately, an injured, frightened, and confused nineteen year old was no match for an energized, large forty year old man. “Witch bitch is awake,” he mused aloud, bending down to grab Katherine’s wrists again, stopping her struggles effectively.

Witch? Had she heard correctly? What? She wasn’t a witch, right? Henry simply ignored the girl’s attempts at fighting and jerked her a bit harder than necessary to subdue her. A squeek of pain left Katherine’s lips. Her arms burned and her shoulder joints were on fire. Not to mention her legs and lower back stung from being dragged.

“Here’s good a place as any.” He stopped. It was so abrupt it shocked Katherine. Henry was smart enough not to leave her be now that she was awake. In his other hand he held a canvas bag. From within it, he pulled a length of rope. With an indistinguishable grumble, he knelt near her feet letting one knee rest its full weight on hers. Katherine bit down harshly on her lip in response to this new pain. The blunt pressure of his full weight made her knee burn like ice and fire simultaneously and somewhere behind the knee cap, something pulled and snapped. 

This blinding pain distracted from his tying her feet together. Once he was satisfied with the knot he moved away momentarily to nail a small wooden stake in the ground. As the sounds of the hammer hitting the wood filled her ears, Katherine became aware of the tears streaming down her face. She didn’t know when they’d begun to fall initially, but now they streamed down her face without abandon. She wanted to scream, she wanted to fight, but she couldn’t as the physical pain began to set in and her limbs were incapacitated. 

All too soon, rough hands took hold of her arms and dragged her back a few feet. Next she was flipped over onto her stomach and he put her arms around the stake he’d nailed into the ground. His calloused hands moved her ponytail out of the way and with no way to see what was happening the fear intensified. 

For the longest moment in her life, time moved ahead sluggishly leaving the girl in a painful limbo. Icy, blinding terror pumped through her veins and her mind whirled. Why her? What had he meant by what he said, witch? She had no more time to contemplate these questions though, as for a moment a striking mind numbing pain bore down on her neck. Then, blackness. 

The next time Katherine opened her eyes, she didn’t think she’d be back in that field with gentle sun beating down on her back. She’d been unsure in a belief of the afterlife, but she was sure the afterlife wouldn’t begin with her tied up in the same field. When she tested her joints and range of motion, she found that she could swing her arms over and off the stake and roll over to face the sky. None of the injuries from Henry remained. Hazily she sat up and took note of her bonds. The knots were rather simple, which she hadn’t noticed in the dark and blinding terror. 

First things first, she had to get free. With some effort, she managed to loosen the knot on the rope that tied her wrists together using her teeth, so she was able to slip her wrists out. Raised scars circled them, presumably from the rope cutting into her skin, but why were they healed? Pushing that out of her mind, she began to untie her bound feet. 

With each move and each sound from the nature near her, she glanced up, frightened that Henry would show up again. Now that she was free, Katherine tested the waters, pushing herself up slowly. So far so good, but she felt weak. Checking for any injuries, she ran her hands over her face and down to her neck. She stopped once her fingers brushed an angry raised patch. Her breath caught in her throat and she followed the line around her neck. No. How was she alive? Why was she alive? 

It wasn’t possible. It shouldn’t be possible. What if he was still here watching her or came back and saw that she somehow wasn't dead? He'd probably kill her again As these thoughts swirled in her head, less and less oxygen found its way into her lungs and she found herself less grounded. He’d said something about witches, her being a witch. She knew they existed, her cousin Anne happened to be one. 

She wasn’t really supposed to know, but Anne let it slip once and she’d sworn her younger cousin to secrecy. Katherine hadn’t believed it at first, but once Anne had set a glass on fire with her mind, she believed it. How though? It was a bloodline thing Anne had said. Nobody in her immediate family (other than Anne) was a witch to her knowledge. As chaos and the nagging paranoia that Henry could once again show his face whirled in Katherine’s mind, a certain fatigue took over. Later she’d learn it was from the magic she’d exerted in bringing herself back to life. 

This fatigue forced Katherine’s brain out of overdrive and panic mode. Shakily and heaving for breath, she found the ground once more. She almost lay down, then the fear of somebody happening upon her told her not to. Instead she sat there, fighting losing consciousness. 

It could have been hours before Katherine was able to steel herself and bring herself out of her haze again. She had no concept of time anyway. How long had she, or well, her body, been out in the field? Did she have any of the possessions she’d had or did Henry take them? She patted down the pockets of her shorts and the lump of a phone drew a sigh of relief from her mouth. He'd been careless or arrogant enough to leave it on her.

Perhaps she had enough battery left, but then again, did she have any service wherever she was? All she knew was that she wanted to get out of there. Her throat was practically sandpaper and she was unsafe so much in the open. 

Scrambling up to a standing position again, Katherine strained her eyes to see anything familiar. With a frown, she pulled her phone out of her pocket. Its cracked screen was dark and with a silent wish, she pressed down on the power button, hoping for a miracle. Much to her surprise, the screen lit up. 

Once she was able to view her home screen she could see just how low the battery was and that she indeed did not have service. Rashly, she started walking, hoping it was the right direction. How had no one tracked her phone yet? Then it dawned on her. Her location services were probably off, and she never set up her ‘Find my iPhone’ app like she was supposed to, an unfortunate mistake. 

Time passed all too slowly and too quickly simultaneously. Once she made it to the edge of the road and had a bar of service she called the one person who might have answers: Anne Boleyn. 

When Anne saw her phone light up with Katherine’s contact flashing across the screen her face lit up. “Jane! Aragon!” she screamed, hoping to get the pair’s attention from across the house. “You were right! She’s alive! She’s calling!” Instead of waiting for the blonde to respond, Anne picked up her phone. “Kat!”

“Annie!” To Anne, the usage of her old nickname made Katherine sound even more frightened. 

“It’s me. I’m here. Are you okay?” She knew the answer to that. Her divination session with Jane and Aragon had been enough to prove that. The empath had been unable to clearly locate Katherine, only describing a field, but she had described the terror and panic. Aragon had then been able to hear a jumble of thoughts about a scar muddled with the word 'witch'. 

“No! I have so many questions but I’ll spare you because my phone’s about to die and get to the point. He killed me, and now I’m alive again. He said I was a witch and that plus the fact that I’m alive again makes me think that maybe he was right,” the girl explained her speech coming in rapid succession, both fear and relief completely palpable. 

Anne sucked in a breath. If what Katherine said was true, and she had no reason to believe it wasn’t, then she’d performed Vitalum Vitalis to bring herself back without knowing it. “Stay where you are! We’re going to try and find you and then we’ll sort out the situation," she said her voice betraying a sense of urgency.

“We? Who’s we?” Her cousin’s wary voice came through the phone speaker. 

“Just- You’ll see. I promise, but please trust me. I won't let you down Kitty.” Anne held her breath, hoping desperately that Katherine wouldn’t question it. The sooner she could get off the phone and relay this information, the sooner they could find Katherine. 

After a painful pause Katherine’s voice filled her ear again, “Fine… hurry though. I don’t like this, what if something happens? I want to get out of here but I'm not sure where I am” 

“I can’t promise something won’t, but just lay low. We’re hurrying, I promise. We'll figure out where you are.” Anne couldn’t assauge a hypothetical worry, especially considering Katherine was probably alone on the side of a road, but she could promise that they'd find her. God, she hoped Jane could find her after she'd said that. 

“Okay, I’ll try, Annie… bye. Hurry,” she added her unsure voice filling the silence again. 

Anne let out a sigh of relief she didn’t know she’d been holding in, “Okay, great. Bye, see you soon.” With that, she hung up and practically shot into Aragon’s office, where she’d last seen the Supreme and Jane. “She’s alive. Jane you have to try and divine her location again. She needs us. She said that somebody killed her and then she woke up alive again.” 

Instead of Jane responding first Aragon spoke up, “Was she alone When she woke back up?” Anne’s eyes darted to Catherine’s face, giving an exasperated eye roll.

“No,” she deadpanned, “she had a witch with her in the middle of a fucking field to bring her back to life.” In situations like these, Anne’s patience diminished greatly and she tended to filterself even less.

Aragon shot her a warning glare, “Watch it Boleyn. I had to ask. If that’s the case then she’s not just your cousin. She’s one of us.” 

Anne had to hold back a sarcastic remark somewhere along the lines of, ‘No shit, but we could focus on that when my cousin's safe instead of wasting time’ which in hindsight was just as bad as saying it. If Aragon had been paying attention to her thoughts she would have heard it anyway. The blonde who’d been sitting adjacent to Aragon spoke up then, “So we should try to divine her location again. Do you happen to have anything else she’s touched? Something different than last time that she had a stronger connection to?” Jane asked. 

Anne furrowed her brow for a moment, mentally going through her possessions until she came across an apt one. “Oh! I have a handwritten Christmas card she gave me? It’s not hers obviously, but she wrote it and put a lot of thought into it. Would that be better?” 

Jane shrugged, “It’s worth a shot.” Anne nodded and all but bolted up the stairs to dig through her room and find the card. On the way up, she nearly knocked Catherine Parr over as the girl trekked down the stairs. 

“Sorry,” Anne apologized, offering a smile as restitution before stepping around Parr, too set on her task to care for conversation. 

Catherine studied Anne for a second, “It’s fine... You’re in a hurry,” she commented, “what’s the reason?” 

Anne paused to glance back at Parr, “Kat, my cousin, she’s alive. She somehow called me. Jane’s gonna try to locate her again.” Before Parr could properly form a response, Anne had disappeared down the hall. Given the news though, Parr sped up on her way down and made her way into the living room where Jane was setting up what she needed and Aragon and Cleves sat in discussion on the sofa. 

“You think it’s going to work this time, Jane?” Parr asked tilting her head.

The empath glanced up, “I hope so.” She didn’t sound too confident, but Parr didn’t comment on it. 

She simply nodded and took a seat in one of the armchairs, "Me too."

At that point, Aragon and Cleves had noticed the curly headed witch’s arrival. “She’s one of us, Cathy. She brought herself back to life. At least that’s what Anne said,” Cleves informed Parr. 

Her eyes widened, “Did she not know before that? Being naturally gifted with Vitalum Vitalis is uncommon. If she was though, she’s powerful. She has potential.” 

Cleves shrugged, “Apparently not. We didn’t speak with her obviously, but Anne mentioned before she’d never shown any sign of being a witch.” 

Aragon spoke next, “Regardless, when she’s feeling better I’d like to test her abilities and see if we can get a bit more of an understanding about them and of course work from there.” 

Parr nodded, “That’d be good. You say she was killed... are we dealing with Henry again?” she asked just as Anne entered the room, holding the Christmas card from Katherine. She stopped at the name of the man they’d all unfortunately had too many run-ins with. The thought had occurred to her yes, but she didn’t want to believe it. 

“Do you really think it’s him?” She asked. Parr turned her head toward the sound of Anne’s voice in the doorway. 

“I don’t know. It’s very possible though,” she shrugged. “Especially considering his patterns.” 

“We’ll have to see more about how she died first, but I do believe it’s likely. He’s the most active hunter in this area. We know he’s been picking off girls who didn’t know they were witches lately. We can only assume that’s an in-between project. People like him don’t get satisfaction of the little kills, so to speak,” Aragon said with a short nod in Anne’s direction. 

“And what do we think his main project is then, and my cousin was not a ‘little kill,’” she asked bristling a bit at Catherine’s phrasing. 

“We don’t know, but presumably a coven, ours if our pasts are any indication. He’s backed off for a minute like I said though. And you know I wasn’t trying to demean the deed, that’s how he sees it though,” she replied arching a brow. 

Anne shook her head, choosing to focus on the task at hand: diving Katherine’s location. “Here,” she handed Jane the card. The blonde took it with a hum of appreciation before she set to work, letting her hands run across the card and her eyes fall shut. The group watched in anticipation. Several agonizing moments of silence passed with no answers and Boleyn found herself losing hope. What if Jane couldn’t figure out where Katherine was? Then her promise would have been in vain. 

After what seemed like an eternity, Jane’s eyes shot open. “I know where she is.” The other four in the room all sat up straighter. “She’s in the outskirts of London.” 

Once Jane had given a more concise address and it was decided the Boleyn, Parr and Cleves would go get Katherine while Jane and Catherine stayed back at the house, the group split, hoping to get to Howard quickly. 

Aragon watched Parr pull the car out of the driveway before she turned to head upstairs with a sigh. She stopped when she saw Jane carrying Eddie down the stairs. Admittedly, she had a soft spot for the child, regardless of who his father was. “He’s sleeping better now?” she asked her friend with a small smile. 

“Yeah, thankfully. It seems like whatever virus he had has run its course... Do you think that Henry was responsible for Katherine, really?” She asked knowing it was likely Catherine had understated her opinion in front of the rest of the girls. 

Catherine nodded with a sigh, “I do. He’s tried so desperately to get to us for years and by killing those who didn’t know I believe he’s not only taking witches out, but baiting us. He knew eventually there’d be a familial connection or something. I told Anna, and she agrees.” 

“So is it dangerous to bring Katherine in?” 

“Maybe, but she’s one of us. We have to help her, and he still doesn’t know the location of this house. We’ll have to debrief her on everything including our experiences with him,” Aragon mused aloud. 

“Poor girl. It’s got to be rough, waking up after being killed and now she’s going to be thrown into this feud or whatever this even is,” Jane frowned lightly glancing down at Eddie as he shifted in his sleep before looking back up at the other woman. 

“Yes, but we can’t leave her in the dark or she could make a mistake without knowing it.” 

Meanwhile, the other three girls had arrived and pulled the car over to look for Katherine. Within a short walking, they noticed a figure on the ground, clearly a female. She lay on her side, curled tightly into herself. As the trio got closer, Anne’s eyes lit up in recognition. Though they were matted and dirty, Katherine’s distinct pink locks shone through. Without a word, she sped up to a jog, only stopping once she’d reached Katherine. “Kitty?” She questioned kneeling to gently shake her cousin. 

Even asleep, the girl was on overdrive so even the gentlest touch roused her. Instinctually, she jerked up and away from the touch. When she saw the person who’d touched her, the defensive shell cracked. Before her knelt Anne Boleyn, and without a word, Katherine threw herself at Anne, searching for any comfort.   
Now that she was safe, she let the fear that had been fighting with defense and survival anxiety for control, overtake her. “Annie,” she mumbled into her cousin’s shoulder. Anne immediately embraced Katherine and once she heard her name escape again, she tightened her arms around Katherine. 

At least when Henry had killed her, she’d been aware of what she was. She could only partially conceptualize what emotions must have been coursing through Katherine’s mind in that moment. “It’s okay, I’m here. You’re safe,” she mumbled back, refusing to let go just yet. 

By then, Parr and Cleves had caught up to Anne and Katherine. The two shared a look when they saw Katherine. They knew she was a teenager, but right then she looked so young, probably younger than she actually was. Parr cleared her throat after giving the cousins a few moments, “Hey, we probably need to get headed back.” 

At the unfamiliar voice, Katherine pulled back from Anne’s hug to regard whomever the voice belonged. The two women’s postures were as relaxed as possible. The shorter of the two had curly black hair and warm brown skin. The taller had short hair and deeper brown skin. “Who are you?” Katherine asked eyeing the two. Presumably, they were part of the ‘we’ Anne had mentioned. 

“Oh, these are two members of my coven, uh that’s-” Anne started nodding toward Parr. 

“Catherine Parr,” the shorter introduced with a warm smile.

“Anna of Cleves,” the other woman nodded next. 

Katherine nodded warily, “I’m Katherine.” She glanced at Anne again, her brows furrowing for a moment before she spoke again, “When you say coven you mean like other witches right?” 

Anne gave a nod in affirmation as she stood offering a hand to Katherine. Parr and Cleves were probably right. They needed to get back and sort this out, and if this was Henry or any hunter’s new kill spot then staying longer than necessary could end badly. “Yes, there’s a couple more of us at home. We want to take you with us so we can protect you.” 

Katherine took Anne’s hand after eyeing it for a moment and used it to pull herself up from the ground. “So… you do think I am one of you, that he was right?” 

Parr nodded hesitantly, “We do We believe you brought yourself back to life.” Katherine’s eyes widened as those words left Parr’s mouth as she momentarily forgot the fear and exhaustion. Had she really been able to do that? In the moment of silence and still, Anne, Parr, and Cleves took a moment to observe Katherine’s physical state. 

Much to their dismay a thick band of scar tissue circled her neck, a sight Boleyn had grown used to seeing on herself when she’d first wake up. She covered it with a choker now, for the bad memories just seeing it brought up. That aside though, it was Henry’s mark. Each hunter had a specific way of killing and Henry’s happened to be beheading. Finally, Howard’s voice broke the silence, “That’s… insane. I mean, I don’t know how or why I could be here otherwise, but still that’s just…” she trailed off unable to fully articulate her thoughts. 

“We know babes, but we can talk more once we’re back at home and you’ve been able to shower and eat,” Cleves said arching a brow kindly. Not having the will to argue back or stall anymore, Katherine just nodded and Anne took her hand leading her back toward the car. The walk was silent as Katherine ruminated on how quickly her life had changed. She stuck close by her cousin though and at every little noise, she couldn't help but search for the source, fearing the worst.  
“How long was I missing?” She hesitantly asked, directing her question to Anne. 

The brunette tilted her head to look at Katherine, “About three days. Your family was no help. In fact they were rather apathetic it seemed, said you’d come back home if you wanted. So, I took it into my own hands,” she explained. 

“Well I’m glad you did for the record. It was terrifying to go through that and wake up and there and all of this… it’s a lot,” she frowned making a face that borderlined both terror and a general sense of being overwhelmed.

“I understand, and hopefully once we explain everything it’ll be a bit easier,” Anne said offering a sympathetic nod. She gave Katherine's hand a squeeze, wishing she could ease some of her cousin's pain and anxieties just a bit.

Once the now quartet of witches was in the car, the safe feeling that came from being in an enclosed space allowed Katherine’s exhaustion to once again override residual fear and confusion. Clinging to Anne’s arm and leaning against her, Katherine’s eyes fell shut again and quickly her breathing evened signifying sleep.

Cleves glanced back at the girl, checking that was actually asleep before she spoke. “I don’t have any doubts that it was Henry. That’s his mark, beheading.” 

Anne sighed, “Neither do I. I just wish she’d realized what she was before. She would have told me and we could have protected her. Her life’s always been a bit.. rough,” she frowned. “Obviously that stuff isn’t my place to tell and it’s not that I’d ever wish murder on anyone, I just wish it hadn’t been her.” 

Parr observed Anne from the rearview mirror with a certain fascination. Seldom did the feisty brunette ever display a particularly soft side and now that she was (at least to a certain degree) it clarified in Parr’s mind just how much Anne did care for her cousin. 

“Well, at least she’s safe with us now,” Cleves said allowing her statement implicitly wrap up the conversation and leave the girls each to their own thoughts and Katherine to her sleep. 

When they arrived back at the house, Anne shook Katherine awake, “Hey, we’re here.” A bleary eyed Katherine forced her eyes open partially, wishing more than anything she could just go back to sleep. Slowly, she took in her surroundings and the familiar sight of her cousin and pushed herself off Anne’s shoulder with a mumbled acknowledgment. She unbuckled her seatbelt and slid out of the car, making her way over to the other side so she could walk in with her cousin. 

“What time is it even?” She asked finally taking note of the fading pink and orange hues that melded into purples further away in the sky. 

Parr glanced at her watch, “Nearly 18:00,” she answered. Katherine nodded, piecing together time and the number of days Anne said she’d been missing. She was still attempting to right herself so to speak, and at least get a basic sense of things. 

Cleves made it to the door first and pulled out her key to unlock it before pushing it open for the other girls to walk through. The first thing Katherine took note of in the house was the pure beauty. It had to have been an old house. Its high ceilings and spacious staircase screamed antiquity. Enraptured by the pure spectacle of the house and small pictures and trinkets she noticed along the way, she paid little attention to where Anne led her. It was only when two women entered her field of vision did she focus once more. There was a blonde perched on the couch and a tall, composed woman with warm brown skin and curly hair tipped in blonde that stopped at about her shoulders. 

The composed one spoke first, “Hello, Katherine. I’m Catherine of Aragon. This,” she paused gesturing at the blonde, “is Jane Seymour.” 

Jane offered a warm smile, “It’s lovely to meet you.” Katherine found herself shyly smiling back and giving a short nod in the newly named Aragon and Jane’s way. Something about the pair exuded calm, warm energy.

“You need to have some food and a shower so I’ll keep introductions short for now. You’ve already met Parr and Cleves. Jane and Anna are part of my council and I’m the supreme, the head of our coven. You’re welcome here with us and safe, I promise,” she added a small smile crossing her face. 

“It’s nice to meet you all… thank you, really. Could I shower though and eat? I’m kind of,” Katherine trailed off vaguely gesturing to her person. She didn’t mention fatigued, but she assumed it read on her face, obviously. She didn’t want to be rude but the idea of cleaning up a bit was appealing. 

“Of course. Could we speak over dinner though?” Katherine nodded in affirmation before Aragon continued. “Anna, can you show her to her room? Boleyn, I want to speak to you,” Aragon said. 

Anne gave Katherine’s arm a reassuring squeeze before she nodded toward Aragon in acquiescence. Cleves shrugged, “Sure thing.” She held her arm out to Katherine with a playful smile. She hoped she could help Katherine feel a bit more at ease, “Come on, I’ll lead the way.” 

“Thanks,” Katherine replied taking her arm after a second. 

“No problem babes.” 

Once the pair had left the living room and started on the stairs, Katherine found herself ruminating on what Aragon had said. “What’s a supreme?” She asked curiously. 

“A supreme is a witch who’s able to perform the Seven Wonders. The Seven Wonders are the seven most ‘basic’ powers, meaning its possible for a witch to manifest them all. They’re pyrokinesis, telekinesis, transmutation or teleportation, vitalum vitalis or bringing something back from the dead, divination, concilium, which is basically mind control, and descensum which is descending to hell and being able to return. The Supreme can do all seven of these, plus whatever gifts she may have, like Aragon is also a clairvoyant. In short though, the Supreme is the most powerful in a coven. There’s usually one per every generation or two,” Anna explained. 

“Wow… that’s really impressive. So what’s a basic witch like then?” Katherine asked as Anna opened a door to reveal a relatively barren room. The basics were in there like a dresser, a bed, a comfortable looking arm chair, and a night table, but other than that it was free of personal touches or possessions. 

“Well, it all depends. Usually she manifests two or three strong powers or in some cases almost all of the seven wonders plus she can have gifts too. This is your room by the way. For now, let me get you some clothes you can wear and some other stuff you’ll need to shower,” Anna said giving Katherine a smile before letting go of her arm to retrieve said items. 

Katherine sat on the edge of the bed contemplating the information Anna had just explained and since she’d brought herself back, apparently, that was one of her strong suits. She couldn’t help but wonder what else she could do or if she’d be good at anything else. Anna returned moments later with a pale pink hoodie and a pair of grey exercise leggings along with a bottle of shampoo and a hair brush. “Thanks,” Katherine smiled softly, standing to meet Anna to get the things she’d been brought. 

“It’s no problem at all. Let me or anyone else know if you need anything. I mean it,” she added after a pause. Promptly, she turned to duck out and leave Katherine to shower and sort things out but stopped when the girl spoke up again. 

“Thanks, I know I already said that, but I mean it too. I appreciate it.” Anna glanced back a smile on her face. Pleasantly, the smile Katherine wore seemed to have a hint of sincerity. 

“Of course.” Katherine gave her another nod and Anna took her leave making her way back to her room for the time being. 

In the kitchen, Jane and Aragon cooked while Anne sat at the island. “You saw her neck. That’s his mark, Aragon,” Anne insisted. 

“I know, and I believe it was him. We just have to figure out how to proceed from here. She’ll need to learn basic glamours for protection if she were to see him ever again first and foremost.” 

“I can teach her if you’d like,” Jane spoke up. “I know really anyone could but I wouldn’t mind it.” Aragon tilted her head in consideration. Jane was the most gentle of the group, (even if she had her moments) and Katherine was exceptionally new to all of this. 

“That might be a good idea,” she finally nodded in approval. “Then you or Parr could also help her learn more about resurrection.” 

“Okay, magic aside,” Anne piped up, “what about her actual life? She’s a uni student and dealing with her family isn’t a big deal, but are we really going to ask her to drop her life?” She asked unable to keep a touch of petulance out of her voice. Despite the fact that Boleyn respected Aragon, she still found herself resenting her on certain matters, her cousin's future being one of them. 

That came partially from when Aragon beat her (by a long shot) in the Seven Wonders a couple years ago and also from their animosity over Henry. If she was honest, she hated that she and Aragon still found themselves frustrated with each other over fallout from dating a literal witch hunter. She supposed it came from the things Anne had said to her when Catherine was upset Henry cheated on her with Anne, and from her thoughts. It was difficult to hide things from a telepath when they were searching. It also came from how fiercely protective Boleyn was over her cousin. 

“No. Of course not. I’d like her to do school online though, so she can focus on training here. Henry and his brethren are killing so many of us and whether we like it or not, he’ll find us eventually and we have to be prepared. That means she has to be confident in her abilities,” Aragon replied making eye contact with Boleyn. “I know she’s your cousin, and I know you care about her a lot. I promise I’m not going to force her to do anything she doesn’t want to.” 

Anne blinked a few times, realizing Catherine had been digging around in her thoughts. She didn’t very often unless she told them she was going to or had to, but in some situations with Anne it was easier than pulling the truth verbally. “One of us should go with her and help her get some of her things from her flat,” Jane suggested wanting to glaze over the slightly awkward moment of silence. 

Anne nodded, “We could go tomorrow maybe.” Aragon gave a hum of approval as she moved to pull a pan out of the oven. 

By the time Katherine had finished her shower and trekked back down the food was mostly ready. The pink hoodie Anna had lent her hung off her frame but she was thankful for the clean clothes regardless. “Just in time, Katherine,” Aragon commented as the pink haired girl made her way into the kitchen. 

A variety of fresh smells hit the girl’s nose. “What are we eating?” She asked curiously. She was unsure how long it had been since she’d had a freshly cooked meal. Usually she ate out or microwave dinners. 

“Poppy Seed chicken and some carrots. What do you want to drink?” Jane asked looking over her shoulder as she pulled glasses down from a cabinet. 

“Water’s fine I guess. Thank you, and that sounds really good,” she nodded taking a seat beside Anne at the kitchen island. “Can I ask a question? Like a magic related question?” She asked directing her inquiry toward the Supreme.

“Of course,” Aragon nodded pausing in setting the table to look at Katherine. 

“Parr, that’s her name right?” she paused looking at Anne who gave a quick confirming nod, “she said I brought myself back. How is that possible? I get the existence of magic, I think. I just don’t understand how that happened or really why I even had to do that,” Katherine inquired. 

“I’m not sure I have an exact answer for you, admittedly, but sometimes when a witch whose primary gift is vitalum vitalis, it only manifests in an extreme situation like that,” Aragon said, explaining to the best of her ability. 

“Your soul still exists even after your body is dead, so somehow you’re able to conjure enough magic to heal your body while your soul is still tethered to it so to speak,” Jane added. 

“Is that why everything scarred over then?” Katherine asked, beginning to understand in basic terms. 

“Indeed,” Aragon affirmed. 

“Anna! Cathy! Food’s ready!” Jane called from the edge of the kitchen, her call interrupting Katherine's flow of questions and train of thought momentarily. Seconds later, the sounds of Anna descending the stairs filled the air and Catherine Parr who’d been sitting in the living room entered the kitchen. 

“That still doesn’t answer everything though… why did I have to bring myself back? Why was that man, what was his name… Henry, yeah that’s it. Why was he trying to kill me?” Katherine asked tilting her head. 

All of the witches in the kitchen froze for a second once Katherine said his name. She’d just confirmed it for sure. “Let’s all sit down for dinner first. Then I’ll explain,” Aragon nodded, attempting to keep things moving along. She wanted everyone seated to tell the story. 

Once all six had made it down to sit at the table and began eating, Katherine couldn’t help but glance expectantly at Aragon until she spoke again. When she finally did, Katherine perked up a bit, curiously. “I suppose now’s as good a time as any to begin explaining it all. The man who tried to kill you, you said his name was Henry, yes? Was he tall, blonde, middle aged?” Katherine nodded before she continued. “That’s Henry Tudor. He’s a witch hunter. We know he’s operating under someone, we just don’t know who yet. He’s been killing witches actively in the London area for about three years now. That’s why there are so few of us. So many witches don’t know what they are and he can detect us unless we’ve warded against that sort of thing, so he’s been killing us.” 

“ We save who we can, and we’ve even lost a few members of this house under our last Supreme. I don’t blame her, but we did. There’s also a second house across the city where some of us live. They rallied together unaware of the central coven’s existence so that’s why they don’t live here. We weren’t going to force them to move. Anyway, Henry has specifically had contact with all six of us.” 

“I was the first. He dated me before I became the Supreme, so three years ago. He was great at first, but looking back it should have been obvious he was angling for a way in. We didn’t know what he was then though. He cheated on me with Boleyn though and broke up with me eventually we can only assume he thought she was more powerful and would rise in the coven.” 

Anne picked up the story next, “I’ll leave out extraneous details but when we started dating I didn’t budge. I wasn’t even part of the coven yet, but he didn’t know that because he was unaware of who exactly was a part of it or not. When he realized I was useless, at least for his goals, he tried to dispose of me. He killed me. Luckily, he made the mistake of doing it too close to here and Jane picked up on my terror as it was happening. She found me and brought me back to life. That’s when I first joined.”

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t end there,” Jane sighed. “I met him next and he was charming, exceptionally charming. I didn’t really take into account Catherine or Anne’s experiences. I didn’t want to believe he was the same person so I just kept him away from meeting them. Eventually though, he got me pregnant and somewhere in that space, Boleyn saw his face and identified him. After he found out I was pregnant, he pushed to meet all of my friends in an unhealthy way. It was like was obsessed with it and long story short that involved Aragon’s telepathy and some convincing, I ended up coming to the realization that he was the same Henry we’d dealt with before. I broke it off with him,” she finished her story, internally cringing at the twisted, competitive part of her that had wanted to be right in the situation and prove that her friends were paranoid. 

“Did you keep the pregnancy?” Howard asked curiously from her spot across the table. 

“Yes. My son lives here with us. You’ll meet him sometime soon I suppose. His name’s Eddie, well Edward,” Jane nodded.

Katherine nodded, “So how did he meet you two?” She asked nodding toward Parr and Anna. Normally, she would’ve come up with some comment regarding Jane’s son, but her mind was too busy at work piecing the story together to bother with social conventions. 

“Uh, well he met me before I found the coven. I had a ward on so he didn’t realize I was even a witch but he harassed me for not wanting to go home with him. That’s not quite the same thing as everyone else, but I can attest to the fact that he’s a dick,” Anna laughed awkwardly. Cleves glanced down at her food, wishing she hadn’t spoken next. She often wondered if her experiences with Henry were even relevant. They had nothing to do with his malicious profession but rather his unsavory personality. In a way they were she told herself, but in others they weren’t. 

Luckily, Parr’s voice filled the awkward silence: “He stalked me essentially, in the exact creeper way you’d imagine. He figured out where the house was somehow, but I’m still not quite sure how he figured out any connections I had to the coven I’d never seen him before. Fortunately though, I was able to erase that chunk of his memory. I would’ve gone for the whole thing if it weren’t for the wards.” 

“Wards? Those are magic, right? If he hates witches so much why does he use their magic?” Katherine asked furrowing her brow. 

“That’s anyone’s guess,” Parr replied. “He’s got strong ones though and we’ve yet to figure out the source. We’re working on it though, and once we know what type of wards he uses exactly, we’ll be able to dispel them and break them.” 

“I know that’s quite a bit of information to take in, but you needed to understand the situation,” Aragon said hoping to wrap up the explanation phase of the conversation and move toward action.

“Yeah… so he killed me because he could sense somehow that I was a witch, and he’s been murdering us?” She asked a note of anger apparent in her voice. the five others nodded, allowing Katherine to process the information. The question remained unanswered as she mumbled, “That’s fucked up.” 

“Will you stay here with us? We want to help you learn about your powers and help protect you from him. The grim reality is, he’s not going away anytime soon and we need to stay together. Anne’s already mentioned your university and maybe you could take online classes? You’re also free to move some of your stuff from home here,” Aragon spoke raising an eyebrow in Howard’s direction. 

“I… Yes. I’m new to this and this a lot, like, really a lot, but I want to learn and if I stay we can survive better. Plus, I’m just pissed at Henry as much as I’m scared of him.” she said a determined expression briefly ghosting across her face. 

A small smile of relief broke out across Aragon’s face, “Lovely. As soon as you’re feeling up to it. We’d like to assess your abilities as they are. You also need to learn the wards we use in public on ourselves for protection. Jane’s offered to teach you, and we’ll go from there.” 

“I want to do that as soon as possible. Also I remembered this while I was showering about the incident. I think it could be relevant. When he cornered me in the pub because that’s how it all started, I was wishing and willing for something to hit him in the head so he’d be distracted and I could slip away. I was really focused on one of the glasses left on the bar and then before I knew it that glass flew into his head. We got kicked out after that and then he attacked me” she scrunched up her face in a frown. “That’s besides the point though. Could that have been telekinesis?”

Cleves piped up, “Sounds about like it.” She nodded in approval. 

Katherine nodded to herself digesting the copious amounts of information as best as she could. “Okay next thing on a similar note. I asked Cleves earlier what a Supreme was and in that she mentioned the basic powers people could manifest. What all can everyone do here?” 

“I’ve never tried descensum, but I can transmute, albeit a bit poorly, bring people back to life, I’m pyro and telekinetic and good with plants,” Parr answered first.

“You know I’m pyrokinetic. I’m also pretty good with telekinesis,’ Anne shrugged. 

“I’m an empath and like you, I manifested vitalum vitalis first so obviously I can do that. I’m also one hell of a diviner,” Jane said with a light laugh, happy to answer the girl’s question. 

“And I’m telekinetic and pretty decent at concilium. Being a human voodoo doll is just a plus,” Cleves grinned.

“A what now?” Katherine asked raising a brow.

“Watch this,” Cleves winked and reached up to her temple and jerked on a piece of her hair. 

“Ow!” Boleyn mumbled beside Cleves as her head jerked in the direction Cleves had pulled her own hair. Once she’d recovered from the minor inconvenience of pain she elbowed Anna who only chuckled in response. Katherine couldn't help but laugh in response also. 

A part of her was completely amazed by the powers these women had. They all seemed so sure of it to, and so in sync. Katherine supposed she'd grow with what she could do, but she wondered if she'd ever be assured in it as these witches were. 

Once dinner wrapped up, Katherine excused herself: “I think I’m gonna head up to sleep now. This has been… exhausting.”

The witches nodded in understanding, “Sleep well!” Anne called as her cousin ascended the stairs. Katherine mumbled back a response, a bit out of ear shot for the five gathered in the living room. 

“Well, she took all of that better than I would’ve in her situation,” Cleves commented glancing at the four women sitting near her. 

Aragon nodded, “Thankfully. That could have gone a lot worse. I’m just glad she’s onboard. I’m not sure what we would’ve done had she not been. One things for sure, Henry could have easily found her again and he could have found us.”


	2. Another One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katherine begins to flourish, the council receives some disturbing news, and Parr learns something vital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here I am back with chapter two! I don't think there's any TWs here? Maybe violence? Regardless, please enjoy and keep in mind everyone isn't who they seem.

It was several days after Katerine had first been brought to the coven that she had rested sufficiently enough for any sort of ability assessment. Turns out being brutally murdered and bringing yourself back to life really took a lot out of a person. In that time, she’d gone with Jane and Anne to get things from her flat and she’d begrudgingly called her parents to let them know she was alive and that instead of living alone she was moving in with Anne. They didn’t know about witches, there was no need to change that. 

On her sixth day at the house, Katherine announced over breakfast she wanted to test the waters with her powers and begin to learn the wards Aragon had discussed the first night at dinner. Truth be told, she wasn’t paying all that much attention to how she was physically. She was more focused on learning. The more she ruminated on the Henry situation, the more her anger and also fear increased. She feared for the coven and herself should he find them, and she was angry at his wanton massacre of innocent people (she’d be lying if some of that didn’t come from the fact that he’d almost killed her cousin). 

Consequently, the girl was eager to learn, especially if it was from Parr or Aragon. Already she admired the two for their obvious intellect and skill. She’d also found herself searching for Cleves’ or Jane’s company at some points. Anna had an energetic but simultaneously laid back vibe, and had some of the best one-liners she’d heard in her life. Jane was maternal and the conversation with her was never dull. Even in such a short period of time, Katherine found herself relaxing into this new environment and maybe even growing a bit attached to her new friends. For that reason, among others, she was determined not to be the weak link in the event of a confrontation with Henry. 

“How is this going to work exactly?” Katherine asked as she stood in the fenced in backyard wringing her hands admittledy a bit nervous. She understood this was purely assessment, and that knowing virtually nothing about witchcraft she shouldn’t be fabulous at anything. Regardless, she didn’t want to make a fool of herself. 

“We’ll start with what you’ve been able to do, telekinesis and vitalum vitalis. We need to know how strong your raw ability is,” Parr explained coming to stand beside Katherine. Taking note of Katherine’s body language she added, “Don’t stress about it. This is totally meant to just be a baseline.” 

Katherine nodded, “Yeah. Is there anything specific you want me to do, like with telekinesis,” she specified wanting to get on with it. 

“Move one of the chairs across the patio,” came Aragon’s voice as she approached the duo. The brunette gave a short nod, turning to face the patio. She focused on the lightest looking chair and imagined it shooting across the gravel, like she’d imagined the glass flying last time. 

Much to her surprise and delight, the chair did just that after several seconds, only with so much force that it careened into the adjacent wall. “Maybe with less force next time,” Aragon’s voice came from behind, caring a note of mirth. 

Katherine felt her face flush a light shade of pink, “Sorry, yeah. Noted,” she said turning back to face Aragon and Parr. 

“No need to apologize,” Aragon dismissed her.  
Catherine tilted her head pensively. If Howard had been able to do that so quickly then she wondered if she could do something a bit more detailed. It’d need to be something that wouldn’t break easily considering the lack of control with respect to the amount of force.  
“Can you make the rake that’s laying against the greenhouse move to the corner of the fence diagonal to us?” Parr asked nodding toward the aforementioned rake. 

Katherine’s eyes followed Parr’s head until they landed on the garden rake against the house. She gave a short nod in Parr’s direction, unsure of whether or not she could in fact do it. 

“Have the intention and don’t let your mind stray,” Aragon advised with a small smile. It didn’t take clairvoyance to discern that Katherine was still unsure of herself. 

Katherine glanced back at Aragon, “Yeah.” Then she turned once and focused on the yard tool and did her best to envision it in the designated corner. Similarly to her first go, the rake flew with prodigal force, albeit it did land in its target, crashing against the fence and promptly falling to the ground from its impact. 

Instead of commenting on the lack of control again, Parr nudged Katherine, a smile on her face, “Well done. That’s promising.” Parr imagined with a bit of training and practice, Katherine could rival her or maybe even Aragon in regards to telekinesis. 

“Let’s move on then?” Aragon suggested moving so she was now standing on Katherine’s other side. 

“Sounds good to me,” Katherine nodded. Her relative success at this first endeavor helped her feel a little bit more capable, but she knew that toying with raw ability was still far from being a distinguished mage. 

“We were thinking you could start with a dead plant, that way it won’t drain your energy. Bringing something larger like a human back to life when you’re untrained can really tire you out, as I’m sure you’ve realized,” Parr explained starting toward her greenhouse with Aragon not far behind her. 

Katherine quickly took the initiative and began to follow the two women. “Is this where you’re working normally when you disappear during the day?” Katherine asked remembering Catherine’s notable absence from lunch to dinner. 

“Indeed. It’s peaceful and I love my plants. Being able to slip out and tend to them or work on spells or potions is nice.” While that was all very true, Parr kept all of her research out in the greenhouse. It was her space and usually only those she invited (along with the occasional unannounced visit from Jane or Aragon) were around. 

The earthy smell of soil and leaves filled the air the minute the trio stepped into the greenhouse. Varieties of herbs and plants filled one section of it and a shelf of books and vials sat across from it. Further down were a few tables set in the center where Parr had put certain plants out for some reason or another, and right beside the door that led back into the house sat a small wooden desk whose surface was covered with stacks of notebooks and a closed laptop. Parr led Katherine to one of the metal tables in the center of the room. 

“This is Devil’s Claw. We use this in spells for protection along with some others. I came in here the other day and noticed it was rotting, and figured I’d save it for when you were doing this,” Parr elucidated reaching across the table to pull a large pot closer to her and Katherine. 

“How do I do this? I was unconscious when I did this last,” Katherine finally admitted after a minute of sizing up the plant. 

“I’m not quite sure there’s a specific thought I can tell you to have to make this happen,” Parr bit her lip. “Every witch has different preferred methods to do this regularly.” 

“It is possible though,” Aragon jumped in, “to do this without any magical aids. It has to do with your energy mostly. I’ve never met a witch with dark energy who could perform vitalum vitalis. Intention is also important here because if you’re ambivalent about wanting the thing to live then it won’t work properly,” she offered hoping her advice was apt.

Katherine gave the pair a contemplative nod before glancing back at the plant. Parr and Aragon watched speculatively as the girl lay her hands against the soil and closed her eyes. Nothing happened for the first minute or so but as Katherine furrowed her brow a bit and seemed to let her fingers move into the soil, the wilting plant began to once again blossom. It’s browning leaves started to turn green once more and its shriveling stalk shot upright once more. Before their eyes, a plant which had been rotting at its precious roots sprung back to life vibrantly and flourished all in one moment. 

When Katherine opened her eyes again, she couldn’t help but grin when she saw the drastic change in the plant’s appearance. She carefully took her hands out of the plants soil and admired her work, “Wow,” she finally mumbled to herself. 

“Very well done!” Came Parr’s now enthusiastic tone as she herself approached the table to inspect the plant. “Not only did you revive it, now it seems to be thriving,” she added after grazing its leaves and stalk with her hands. 

“I’m impressed,” Aragon complimented offering Katherine a smile. The brunette’s cheeks blushed a light pink at the praise from both Parr and the Supreme. “Healing definitely seems to be your strong suit. That’ll be our starting point aside from the basic wards,” she decided aloud. 

“Do you want me to try to do anything else like pyrokinesis or divination?” Katherine asked, her eyes glimmering with a certain energy no one in the house had seen before. She didn’t complain about it to anyone other than Anne, but the Henry incident weighed her down. 

She talked to Anne because Anne could relate to it in some ways. Katherine hadn’t felt safe leaving the house and when she thought about what happened too hard, her chest got tight and phantom pains sparked through the raised scar. Now, being able to succeed and be productive at a task helped Katherine feel a bit more normal and gave her drive to keep going. 

“Not today I don’t think. It’s best not to push for things you haven’t been taught,” Aragon shook her head kindly. 

“Can I start learning those wards from Jane then? I want to keep going while I have the energy,” Katherine insisted. 

“I suppose I don’t see a problem with that as long as Jane isn’t busy, just don’t push yourself too hard,” the Supreme cautioned with a raised brow. 

“If you want to find her, Jane usually hangs out up in the attic if you don’t see her any of the normal places. She’s set up some research up there,” Parr added. 

“Great! Thank you! I guess I’ll see you later then?” Katherine raised her brow, not leaving before some sort of final confirmation from Aragon or Parr. Parr gave her an encouraging nod before Katherine turned on her heel to seek out the blonde. 

Quickly, Katherine made her way toward the attic after checking the kitchen and Jane’s room, both of which were empty. She stopped her hand hovering over the doorknob and thought better of it, rapping gently on the door. Seconds later, a quiet voice floated through the door, “Come in.” 

Katherine stepped into the attic only to be hit in the face with lukewarm air. The only ventilation came from an open window and fans Jane had plugged in. Regardless of ventilation or lack thereof, Jane had made herself at home in the relatively open space. A small table stood off to the side and on it were several stacks of books. Off to one side, Jane’s divination stones sat laid out in formation and several candles sat nearby. Jane glanced up from her spot at the table, pouring over a text, “Kat! What can I do for you?” Over the few days Katherine had been there, she’d taken to call her ‘Kat’ as she traditionally called Aragon ‘Catherine’ so having a nickname for Howard made sense in her mind. 

“Can you teach me those protection spells?” Katherine asked stepping further into the attic. On a second thought, she turned back to shut the door once more, assuming Jane would want some privacy. 

Jane flashed the girl a smile. She wondered when she'd have a visit from Katherine asking her just that, “Of course. Let me clean up some of my space here then we’ll get started. How’d your time with Cathy and Catherine go?” She continued, beginning to clear books off of the table. 

“Uh, it went well, I think. I threw things way too forcefully though, with my mind of course and I was able to revive one of Parr’s plants that was dying,” she nodded. Her voice betrayed a hint of pride at her accomplishments, especially with the plant. 

“That’s great, love. I’m proud,” Jane smiled. Katherine’s face lit up at the praise. She almost hated that she so noticeably fed off of the praise of others, but for so much of her life, she’d based her self-image on what others said or thought. From her first music teacher and his greedy hands, her first employers demands, to her family’s expectations. Now in the coven she found herself falling back into old habits. The difference was that this time she was in an environment where people built her up genuinely. 

“Thank you. Aragon said that I could start learning more about healing after I learned all of the basic stuff you’re about to teach me. I’m excited for that,” she paused to observe Jane and scan the spines of the books she could see, “what are you working on in here?” 

“Some research on tracking magic, and I’m working on some spells of my own, nothing largely important. Come stand over here beside me. We need to get started,” Jane instructed. 

Once Katherine stood beside her, she began to speak again, “The two most quintessential spells you’ll need to learn are a face morphing spell and a cloaking spell. They do exactly as you think. The face morphing spell can change the appearance of your face and the cloaking spell can make you invisible to others around you. They only work in short periods of time though. The same effects can last longer if produced through a potion but it isn’t quite practical to carry around a potion all the time. Transmutation would also be helpful to have for possible use along with these spells, but we can focus on that later. First we’ll work on the face morphing spell,” she paused to see that the girl had registered everything, “shall we begin?” 

Hours later, after dinner Catherine retreated to the greenhouse Anne helped an exhausted Katherine up to her room insisting, “You wore yourself out when you weren’t at your fullest!” Aragon glanced at the two witches left in the kitchen.

“We need to talk in private you two. Once the kitchen is clean meet me in my study. I’d offer to help but I have a lot of things to think over. And girls? This is council business so it stays with us for now,” she added. Cleves and Jane gave affirmations which satisfied Aragon. 

As she headed back toward her study, she pulled her phone out of her pocket to see a text from Maria. Maria was one of the witches on the other side of London who were technically a part of her coven, but not living with them. The text read: ‘We found another one. Different field than Howard, same style. Beheaded. She’s been gone for what looks like about a week so it’s too late to bring her back.’ 

“Damn it,” Aragon cursed under her breath. She entered her study and sunk into the soft desk chair with a sigh before texting a response to Maria. Then, she opened a small notebook on the inner corner of her desk which was filled already with her sloping script. On the next blank page she added, ‘Unknown beheaded victim found, probably Henry. Check on missing persons records and attempt to identify who. Call Maria.’ 

Just as she closed the notebook, Jane and Anna slipped into the room. “Thank you for joining me so quickly,” Aragon commented with a nod in their direction. 

“No problem. It’s our job. Now what’s up?” Anna asked, always one to get to the point in situations like these. 

With a sigh, Aragon announced, “There’s been another kill, which wasn’t what I was going to address originally but now needs to be. We also need to discuss any progress we’ve had on learning more about Henry’s magics.” 

Anna sat up straighter, “Another kill? When? Where?” 

Aragon held a hand up, “Hold on. I was getting there. Maria just reported it to me. The girl was beheaded about a week ago. We don’t have an identification yet. If Maria or one of the others discovers something on that before we do, I’m sure she’ll let us know. In the meantime I can work on ID and we can move forward to getting the root of the problem taken care of.” 

“Do we know if Maria and the other girls are still flying under the radar? Henry seems to be rooting every other witch in London out and trying to, or succeeding in killing them,” Jane pointed out. 

“Seems like they are. I think they’re aware enough of the danger and were fortunate enough to avoid him before they were aware. We’d get word that they were compromised if they were and they’d come join us here,” Aragon nodded. “Moving on though, Jane has any of your tracking magic research provided anything yet? And Anna, have we made any headway with the identities of his other victims?” 

Jane spoke first, “I’m doing my best, but as you know, tracking the magical signature is much more complex that tracking an object or person. It’s not like I can traditionally divine a magical signature and place it locationally or its owner. I do have a couple spells in the works though. If they work out the next step would be getting someone in contact with Henry again long enough to cast one of the spells so we can find the origin of the magic.”

Anna spoke next, “I’ve only been able to identify three. They all came from central London though and they were young. Katherine’s age or younger.” 

Aragon and Jane both visibly cringed at hearing Henry had been killing off those so young. “How young was the youngest?” Jane hesitantly asked. 

“As far as I can tell, sixteen. It’s fucked, I know,” she added, shaking her head. 

“That it may be, but that just gives us more motivation to deal with him right?” Aragon supplied attempting to move on from the uncomfortable and just downright depressing fact of the ages of Henry’s victims. Dwelling on it wouldn’t help, not when they could be productive about the issue, or at least attempt to be. 

Jane and Anna gave nods in response before Catherine continued speaking, “Jane, how’d Katherine do today learning everything? It was clear over dinner she’d drained herself.” 

“She picked up the spells well actually. She seems to have a natural ability for magic. My only worry is that in a fight she wouldn’t stop when she was drained even if someone could cover her, or that in practicing she’ll run herself into the ground. She’s reckless in that way,” Jane reported. 

“Maybe next time she wants to learn something, we could work on control and pacing?” Anna suggested. “I think, and I could be wrong, that she’s throwing herself into this so hard because she wants to be useful. If we worked with her on control then perhaps we could implicitly say that she’s better off learning at a less rapid pace because that means she’s not running herself dead.” 

Aragon contemplated the idea in her mind staying silent for a moment, “I think that’s a good idea. Anna, since it was your idea, can you be in charge of that? You’re also not strong in healing magic so learning from you she won’t feel like she could be learning about healing.” 

The German shrugged, “On it.” 

Aragon nodded in approval, “Lovely. Jane keep working on the spells and we’ll go from there. As I said before, I’ll keep you all updated on the situation with his victims. I think that’s all for this meeting, ladies,” she dismissed the other two with a small smile. Jane stood first, explaining she wanted to work on her research and Anna excused herself then, saying she had something to do. 

Jane’s common sense told her she needed to sleep and check on Eddie about three hours of hitting dead ends in her work. On her way back to her own room from the attic, Jane couldn’t help but to peak into Katherine’s door when she noticed it open. Her original intention was to simply close the door, but when she caught sight of Katherine writhing on the bed, something pulled at her heartstrings and she slipped into the room. “Kat?” She addressed the girl attempting to shake her from her fitful sleep. 

A hyper aware Katherine bolted up in bed moments later, clutching at her neck and panting. It took her brain several seconds to process her surroundings and her elevated heart rate pounding in her ears along with the unmistakable feeling of anxiety boiling in the pit of her stomach. It was only when she noticed Jane sitting at the edge of the bed and realized her hands were still wrapped around her own throat that she put the pieces together. Her nightmare had somehow gotten someone else’s attention. She glanced at the clock on the table to see it was about 1:00. “Sorry to have woken you,” she apologized in between breaths, immediately assuming she’d woken the blonde. 

Jane tilted her head, “You didn’t wake me, sweetheart. I was up working and walking back to my room. Your door was open and I was going to close it for you, then I saw you flinching and jerking in your sleep, figured I’d wake you before it got any worse,” she said kindly. 

Katherine nodded pushing back the covers damp with sweat. She blinked her wide eyes a few times still trying to chase off intrusive images and thoughts from her dream of her death. “Thank you-” she stopped, realizing she’d been about to unload all of her dream onto Jane. Something in the blonde made Katherine want to trust her, even if she’d only known her for a short period of time. That feeling frightened Katherine, when she'd carelessly extended trust un the past she got burned.

“You can talk about it if you want,” Jane hummed sensing wariness amongst the tide of anxiety running through Katherine. “You don’t have to, but I’m happy to listen.” 

The room fell silent for a short period of time with Jane waiting patiently and Katherine weighing her options. She could trust Jane who radiated warmth and talk about it which could help set her at ease or she could decline and try to sleep again and risk falling back into a nightmare.The latter of the two options definately sounded least appealing. In a hasty moment, she decided to trust Jane. “It was the first time I’ve dreamed since it happened,” Katherine finally started, anxiously picking at a piece of loose skin on one of her nails. 

Jane gave an encouraging nod and in some instinct of comfort, she reached out put a hand on Katherine’s wrist to give it a squeeze. “When he- my death kept playing on a loop and I couldn’t stop it, no matter what I tried and I could almost feel the pain again. I could feel him dragging me and crushing my knee, the whole bit, even up to the ax-” she stopped to try and force a deep breath as during her explanation her sentences and breaths started to come in rapid succession. 

“It’s okay, you’re here. I’ve got you,” Jane reminded her quietly. Instead of verbally responding, Katherine took hold of Jane’s hand which had fallen nearby after it had squeezed her wrist. At the physical contact, Jane could even more intensely feel the fear coursing through Katherine at recounting her death. After several minutes of silence, the fear and anxiety subsided to a dull hum replaced by a hazing exhaustion. Once Jane registered this transition, Katherine released a shaky sigh. “There you go. That’s good,” Jane praised. 

“Can I- I really kind of want a hug. I’d ask Anne if I thought she were awake, and you don’t have to of course,” Katherine responded her eyes darting up to look at the blonde for a fleeting second. 

“Of course,” Jane nodded without hesitation, gently freeing her hand from Katherine’s, so she could open her arms to the girl. In a matter of seconds, Katherine wrapped her arms around Jane tightly, revelling in the physical comfort. The blonde allowed Katherine a hug as long as she needed, and simply took to running a hand through long pink ended locks. 

Finally Katherine pulled away from the hug, visibly looking a bit more at ease, “Thank you, that really did make me feel better,” she mumbled looking down at her lap again. 

“Anytime, really,” Jane replied with a dismissive shake of her head. 

Katherine’s eyes widened for a moment, “You mean that?” she asked wondering why a woman she’d known for about a week cared about her already.

“I do, I promise,” she assured giving one of Katherine’s hands a squeeze. 

“Thank you, again. It really means a lot,” the girl said giving Jane a small smile, though she was unsure how clearly Jane could make it out in the dark. “I think I’m gonna try and sleep again,” she decided aloud next. 

Jane nodded, “Like I said, anytime. If you can’t sleep, Cathy is usually up late, and I’m sure she wouldn’t mind a bit of quiet company.” She would’ve told Katherine she could come fine her, but she didn’t want to overstep any boundaries. 

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Katherine said softly as Jane stood to make her way out. “Goodnight,” Katherine added as Jane was halfway out the door. 

“Goodnight,” the blonde replied slipping away with a small smile on her face. Any reservations she’d had about bringing Katherine into the coven (due to security reasons) had nearly completely dissipated at this point. Not only did Howard have the potential to be a powerful witch, but she was also a kind soul. 

That night, Katherine Howard was not the only soul unable to sleep. The Supreme rolled around in her bed, mind whirring at a dizzying rate. With a huff, she pushed her blankets back. If sleeping was a futile endeavor then perhaps she could be productive. A quick glance at the clock told her it was two in the morning, so Aragon padded her way down to the greenhouse, where Catherine Parr sat hunched over her laptop. 

“Catherine,” Aragon called as she stepped into the dimly lit room, save for the lamp on Parr’s desk. The curly headed woman glanced up, her eyes wide and eyebrows raised until she saw it was only her godmother. 

“Oh hey,” she finally greeted back, turning to face Aragon fully. “Why’re you up so late?” she asked curiously. Normally she and Jane were the last two to sleep. 

“I could ask you the same question,” Aragon mused with a small smile. “But I also know it’s useless to try and get you to sleep earlier so it’d be pointless. For the record, I couldn’t sleep.” 

Parr rolled her eyes goodnaturedly, unable to keep a small smile of her own from forming on her face. “I’m up researching what you asked me to, remember?” She said her voice carrying a ghost of jest. “Is there anything in particular keeping you up though?” She asked sobering back up. 

“Just the situation I guess. There’s been some disturbing developments and I fear we’re running out of time,” she replied leaning against the doorframe.  
“Out of time for what? Some sort of confrontation?” 

“I suppose. I just have a gut feeling, and I don’t like it. I hope I’m wrong,” Aragon added after a short pause. “I shouldn’t let this get out because it is council business, but someone else is dead. We have to figure something out, We’re dying and even if we six and the girls across the city survive, that’s not helping our kind survive. Jane’s progress with tracking magic is coming slowly and it doesn’t need to be.” 

“I won’t press for more details on the new victim, but I agree, something needs to be done. Speaking of which, I may have found something. You asked me to try and figure out who was employing him and where he came from and such. Well, I did some digging to learn that’s from the UK but he’s been in other countries pulling similar shit. He’s been in Spain, France and Germany. There the murders were reported and documented though no one was ever convicted. It’s the exact same MO if you will: beheading in a rural area in one fell swoop. Plus the victims were consistently young women.” 

“As for his associates, I’m coming up blank. I”ve even corresponded with the American supreme and she’s never experienced anything like him. She said they shut down the main company for hunters. My best guess is that it’s a family thing or he’s working in a micro group, which is smart. They leave less of a trace,” Parr finished. 

Aragon knit her brows at this new information. This man had to be incredibly careful or have some sort of magic protection that helped him not get caught. It seemed like a Henry move. If he used wards to detect a witch’s power and protect himself, then it wasn’t a far stretch to wonder if he would use them to cover his crimes. 

“You should tell the council. Maybe this would help,” Parr pressed in the silence that fell as Aragon’s thoughts whirled. 

“No. That’s not a good idea. I don’t want to worry them any more, and truthfully? The less people who know this, the safer we are. We still don’t know who’s protecting him and if he knows we’re figuring out a pattern in anyway then he’ll move faster and we can’t,” Aragon shook her head.

Parr’s eyes widened, “Are you insinuating what I think you are? Do you think his aid is one of us?” She couldn’t help the prying tone that left her lips as the shock of the implications in Aragon’s statement hit her. 

“I- I don’t think so, but you can never be too careful who you trust and we don’t know what he’s capable of. I’m not going to lose anyone else, at least not those directly under my protection,” the Supreme said with a firm nod, covering her falter toward the beginning of her sentence. This was her coven, and she was hellbent on protecting it, even if that meant withholding information or not blindly trusting everyone.


	3. Out for Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane's research, Kat and Cleves make some magical process, Anne has an unfortunate run-in, and Aragon hits her limit with Henry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, I'm behind on publications of this but hopefully the weekly updates should be back soon. Anyway, this one has a TW for scars. Stay safe and enjoy, loves!

Jane took a deep breath as she slipped into the attic. It was useless to believe she’d be able to work all day uninterrupted as she’d have to check on Eddie and spend time with him. It wasn’t that she minded spending time with her son. In fact, he was one of the best parts of her life, despite how he’d come about. Having a son meant she couldn’t throw herself into research as she’d like to though.

In reality, she knew Parr or Aragon would help if she wanted it or needed it, but the young witch and Supreme already had enough on their plates. Plus, divination was Jane’s thing. Tracking magic was an extension of divination anyway. She could manage this perfectly well. Over the years, she’d worked on her fair share of divination techniques and taught them to those who’d asked. Her fondest memories included teaching Parr some of her research and in return Parr had taught her recipes to the spell she’d spent time working on. 

She’d gone into her current endeavors with high hopes and expectations for herself, after all, this was her specialty, but she hadn’t as successful as she hoped. So far, she’d been able to create a spell that would discern a specific spells magical trace from others, but that was a far cry from tracing its origins. 

The next problem would be getting close enough to Henry to cast these spells. None of the girls in the house could feasibly succeed without being noticed. Only Cathy stood a chance considering her memory wipe spell, but even then it wasn’t ideal. She’d expose herself as a witch inadvertently most likely. She could put up wards to make her magic indetectable but she wouldn’t be able to keep them up while performing another spell that powerful. Jane Seymour was no fool, she didn’t believe these spells she’d craft would be easy to cast. 

Tracking magic as it already existed required a high level of skill and energy. Contemplating the subject of how to put her research into action, she tried to remind herself that Parr was one of the most talented witches she knew, but she also knew the reality of magics. It’d take some losing to win, the loss being ruining Parr’s anonymity. 

Then it occured to Jane that she could come at this all from a different angle. She understood divination which in essence was locating someone using either stones or an object they’d owned. If she could find a way to combine divining and tracking. That could of course take a substantially longer amount of time, but then again she was pretty much at a dead end on her current lead. It couldn’t hurt to turn things around and attempt a different approach. Perhaps she was wrong and this would be a more rapid way of going about things.

With a new vigor, Jane sat down at her makeshift desk and opened the book she’d been studying the previous day. This time however, she turned to an entirely new section. Part of her knew she had to hurry with her research. Each witch, whether or not she wanted to acknowledge it or deny it could feel a sense of impending confrontation. Henry wouldn’t be placated with his petty, covenless kills forever, not when the coven was starting to try and protect them more. 

Additionally, the fiercer side of Jane wanted to beat him to the chase. It wasn’t necessarily that she wanted to be on the offensive, but she wanted to figure out how to play his game. In turn, she wanted to bend the rules to his game and make it their game. She wanted to have the upper hand for once instead of playing by his rules. If her magic could help them do that in any way, then it was all the more reason for her to continue her work. 

The protective side of Jane also had a hand in her drive. She not only had herself to protect, but a coven and a son. If Henry got ahold of the women she cared about so deeply or her own child, she’d be beside herself. Should he lay his hands on the girls, herself included, she knew it would be certain death. If he were to touch Eddie, there was no way to know what he’d do. 

One one hand, there was a possibility Eddie could have inherited the warlock gene and if Henry didn’t kill him on the spot he might once his powers came to light. On the other, he could raise Eddie as a hunter. The latter gutted Jane. The idea that her son could be raised to senselesley murder people tore her apart.   
She didn’t understand where the fervent hate came from anyway, or more accurately how it festered. She supposed like any other hate in the world it came from fear of the other, or maybe from a religious place. Though, if hunters would take the chance to understand their ‘prey’ maybe they’d learn that their powers weren’t satanic nor meant to be destructive. 

With a new determination and swirling thoughts, Seymour berated herself momentarily for straying so quickly. She took a deep breath before focusing her mind on the words on the page before her. 

Meanwhile, Cleves had decided to find Katherine to have that lesson with her on her control. First she’d peaked into her room to find an empty space. Next she checked the ultimately vacant living room, which then led her to the backyard where Katherine sat leaning against the fence, a book propped up in her lap. “Kath!” Anna called as she approached the pink haired witch. 

Promptly, the person in question’s head shot up at the sound of her name being called. Cleves traipsed the rest of the way over before she spoke again, “What’re you reading?” She asked taking a seat beside Katherine. 

“Just a book I borrowed from Cathy on herbs and healing. I was going to talk to Jane about working more on healing by itself, but she’s seemed busy so I’ve settled for this book,” she said with a short half laugh nodding toward the thick text on her knees. 

“I can’t help with healing or anything like that, but I can help with some more defensive and offensive stuff if you wanted to learn,” Anna shrugged a small smile flickering at the edges of her mouth. 

Katherine’s eyes widened in excitement momentarily, “I’d love that, what can you teach me?” 

“Oh, a lot of things,” Cleves quipped with a wink.”But let’s start with working on telekinesis.” 

Katherine furrowed her brow, “But I can already do that?” 

Cleves raised a brow in return, “May be, but doing it and fighting with it are two completely different things. Now, come on, up,” she grinned pulling herself up and offering a hand for the other to take. 

The shorter witch set her book aside and took Anna’s hand to pull herself from the ground, “Fine then. What’s the difference?” 

“Controlling everything,” she replied taking a few paces away from the girl. Katherine nodded in understanding, her mind flashing back to Aragon’s advice on the first day she’d tried anything. 

“Okay, teach me how to control it then,” she relented with a firm nod. 

“Well, from what I’ve heard you’ve got enough force behind it to send something flying and that’s great because that means your natural magic is strong, but that’s not always ideal. Have you got a handle on direction?” Cleves asked. She received a nod from Katherine in return before she continued, “Good. The next thing to worry about then is how forceful you are. You’ve probably heard Aragon say this, but intention really does matter. Emotion too in a sense. I’m not exactly sure how I can explain that… uh maybe we’ll just put it into practice.” 

“I need you to think about… Henry. Once you have him in mind, try to name what emotion you feel, either out loud or in your head. It doesn’t matter. Then, you need to slam that piece of spare wood against the other side of the fence,” Cleves instructed. 

Howard stood still, contemplating Cleves’ request. Henry’s name brought an unnameable emotion somewhere between fear and anger to the forefront of her mind, as well as a determination. With that identification, she moved to the next part of her task and in a split second, said piece of food flew across the yard and hit the fence with enough force that a splintering sound echoed through the backyard. 

Anna nodded approvingly, “Wonderful. That was exactly what I intended to happen, well breaking that piece of wood more or less, but that was the general idea. This time, think of someone you care about and identify that emotion. Then I want you to make the book you were reading fly into my hand.” 

“Into your hand? What if I hurt your hand with the force?” Katherine asked her voice betraying a certain insecurity about being unable to control her magic. She had no qualms with the forceful things, but so far she’d been unable to soften the edges of anything. Granted, she hadn’t been at it for long. It frustrated her though. She wanted to learn and be good this. 

“If you do then we’ll worry about it when it happens, but I don’t think you will. Just try it, yeah?” Anna waited until she saw the younger witch nod to give an encouraging nod in return. 

Once again, Katherine let her mind drift until it landed on her cousin and her new friends. Even now, these women brought her a warm safe feeling she could revel in for ages. Now wasn’t that time though, she had a job. Allowing the warm feeling to course through her veins, she imagined the book flying gently into Anna’s outstretched hand and much to her pleasure, the book glided into Anna’s hand. 

“See, I told you,” the German spoke with a small cheeky grin spreading across her face. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Howard rolled her eyes, a light blush spreading across her cheek. 

“Mhm. Now, remember how that felt? The difference? While you were using emotion to fuel everything, the intent came from those emotions. Obviously in the heat of the moment you won’t have time to think about it, but that’s what it’s like. I’m honestly quite impressed with you, babes. You learn quickly. Let’s work on some more then, yeah?” Cleves suggested with a quirked brow. 

Katherine nodded eagerly awaiting instruction. In the next half hour, Katherine found herself falling into a comfortable pattern controlling how everything worked. It turned out, Aragon and Cleves were exactly right, unsurprisingly. Once she found a deliberate way of focusing, she started working on making the thought process into control less deliberate. 

Finally Anna spoke again, “You wanna have a little spar?” 

Katherine raised brow, “Spar?” 

“Yeah. You and me, just using telekinesis of course. There are rules too. Any object we use can’t be made of glass and nothing heavy enough to be fatal should something go terribly wrong. The winner will be the one to actually hit the other with an object, preferably not hard,” she challenged a smirk ghosting across her face. 

Katherine titled her head for a moment, “Don’t hold back on me. If we’re gonna do this I want you to fight full out.” 

“Never,” Anna assured shaking her head. 

“Then… you’re on,” Howard stated with a grin. Sans warning, she sent one of Parr’s gardening tools which had leaning against the shed flying toward Anna’s side.

“Cheater,” Anna teased, “you didn’t let me know we were starting,” she continued changing the direction of the projectile so it aimed for Howard’s arm. The grin on Howard’s face dropped into one of concentration as she realized Cleves really wouldn’t make this easy.

“Element of surprise,” she retorted waiting until the last second to once again change the direction of the spade, sending it flying toward Anna. She simply dodged, knowing the force Howard had used would give her time to make an offensive attack as there’d be a change in what was being thrown. 

Katherine blinked as the tool crashed into the ground, it’d been a cocky shot. In Howard’s brief moment of surprise, Anna took it upon herself to let a stray stick from a tree that’d fallen fly toward Howard’s hip. 

In a turn of events, Howard managed to snap the stick mid air and let it drop to the ground. Cleves was ready though, she’d prepared to hurl a remnant of the wood plank at Katherine. The wood almost came close, but Katherine dodged physically and Anna followed. 

Closing in on Katherine could assure victory and in the time Katherine had taken to dodge herself, Anna had taken steps in and with a flick of her wrist, a bucket was flying toward Howard. 

Ever vigilant, Katherine repelled the object, sending it back toward Cleves, aiming for her shins. This put Anna in a position where she couldn't dodge physically so she had no choice but to send it flying back at Katherine. The shot was carelessly aimed for a shoulder, which Howard ducked. 

Katherine had been more focused on defense considering Anna’s offensive stratagems. Then, she saw her chance once she'd dodged, for a split second, Anna looked glanced around the yard for a new 'weapon' in range. Beefore she could think about the potential effectiveness, Katherine propelled the book she'd ben reading toward Anna with the gentlest tilt of her head in that direction.

Whether it was a stroke of luck or not, the book found itself softing knocking into Anna’s side before she could do anything. It was indeed close quarters that had led to a victory, just not Anna’s. A grin spread across Katherine’s face, “Yes!” she cheered quietly to herself, celebrating her victory. 

Anna shook her head, “Well, you did it,” she chuckled. The German bent down to scoop up the book before closing the gap between her and Howard. “That was good, I’d say we go another round because I can’t stand defeat, but we probably need to head back in. It’s my turn to help Aragon and Jane with dinner,” Anna made a face. “I keep telling them it’s not a wise idea. They know how inept I am in the kitchen but still, they insist: everyone has to take a rotation helping,” She chuckled. 

Katherine let out a laugh, “Yeah, let’s head on in. I think I’m good not going another round. I can rest on my laurels… and I’m sure you aren’t that bad of a cook.” 

“Oh really? Once I burnt rice,” Anna deadpanned.

“Wait really, you’re serious?” Katherine asked her mouth falling open momentarily then closing as a giggle escaped. 

“Dead. I’m not even sure myself how it happened, but it did,” Anna confirmed laughing with the pink haired girl as they walked. 

Upon entering the house, both were greeted by three voices, clearly annoyed. 

“I thought bought cream cheese!” Jane.

“No? You never mentioned needing it?” Anne. 

“I clearly did. When I sent you grocery shopping last time I told you I needed it,” spoke Jane again. 

“Regardless of who did or said what we can’t cook dinner until we have cream cheese!” Aragon. She sounded more exasperated at the pair before her rather than the actual predicament. 

“Shall we join them in the kitchen?” Cleves asked with a sigh. Katherine nodded, allowing Anna to lead the way into the kitchen. Wherein Jane and Boleyn stood in front of each other, arms crossed with Aragon leaning against the kitchen counter looking more than done with the situation. 

“I’m not going to get it. I literally went to the store yesterday,” Anne defended herself. 

“What? Going to sneak off to greenhouse to spend time with Cathy while we cook instead?” 

A blush rose in Anne’s face and Aragon’s eyebrows shot up at the implications. It’s not that she minded, but it was news to her. Jane sat back, satisfied at having momentarily stunned Anne into silence, of which Aragon took advantage, “Anne, just go. It’ll save us a lot of time and arguing.” 

Boleyn looked as if she might argue for a second more but instead dredged away, turning at the kitchen exit, “I’m not helping cook when it’s my turn next time or doing dish duty next time I have to just for this,” she threatened slipping out. 

Anne huffed to herself as she gathered her phone and the car keys. She did have things she’d much rather be doing than running an errand for Jane. Especially considering she did happen to have other plans and Jane definitely had not told her to buy the cursed cream cheese on her grocery run. She could have argued with Aragon and Jane, but in reality Boleyn knew that arguing would just waste time. She’d just bite the bullet this time. At least it was only one item and not a long list of items she’d supposedly forgotten to buy on her grocery run. 

The drive to Tescos went about as mundane as Anne imagined it would be. The traffic was beginning to pick up though. That’d be a hindrance when she headed back home, she thought sighing to herself. Perhaps if she could get in and out quick enough she could miss the heat of the traffic. 

That was her plan, in, out. Anne made her way into the store and toward the refrigerated section. As she walked, however, someone caught her eye. In a split second Anne Boleyn whipped her head up to observe the passerby. His tall stature and scruffy beginnings of a sandy beard unmistakably marked him as Henry Tudor. 

Anne’s mind froze on the spot; though the girls had taken precautions should see Henry, none of them had. Thankfully, nearly as quickly as she froze, her brain started to work at lightning speed. She whispered a few words in Latin under her breath and a tingle shot through her body signaling that her glamour had been successful. To a bypasser, her curly hair had straightened out suddenly and her eyes were now a stormy grey, her jaw a bit rounder. The changes were subtle, but enough to make Anne Boleyn unrecognizable. 

She moved on, walking faster than before, analyzing the situation. This could mean nothing, London was Henry’s stomping ground. Nonetheless, his presence was threatening. Had he held anything in his hands? Anything other than a mundane food item could mean he had another target or was at least stocking up for when he did. Then it occurred to her, rope. He had rope in his hands. 

With an even hastened pace, she wrapped up her shopping trip, all petty frustrations about having to make an extra trip having left her mind now. Had she gotten her glamour up in time? Surely she had. He’d only been near for a moment. Had he seen her, had he taken notice of her? As she thought of the awful man in question, her hand found its way under her chocker to the raised scar, his mark. A wave of nausea from touching it coursed through her veins. 

The situation had been real before when Katherine became involved, but now it seemed even more real. Henry was active in London, he wouldn’t leave. Some part of Anne had hoped that all of the preparation the girls had been doing would be useless, that he’d move on, but seeing him now, she knew Henry really was still a threat. He was out for blood. 

“Catherine! Cleves! Jane! Everyone!” Anne yelled as she walked into the house, dropping her glamour. She made her way into the kitchen, where thankfully most everyone sat. 

“Loud much,” Katherine teased from her spot at the table beside Cleves. Anne hardly glanced at her cousin’s wit. 

“I saw him,” she burst out, unable to keep it in. Her mind had been on hyperdrive the whole way home. 

“Him?” Aragon asked her mind immediately becoming alert. Her mind jumped to the worst possible conclusion: Henry. He had been the only him on their minds lately after all. Anne could be in danger if that was true or someone else could be. No, not now. 

“Henry,” Anne confirmed almost slamming the cream cheese on the counter. 

“Well, fuck” came Cleves’ voice.

“Did he recognize you or were you able to put up wards?” Asked Parr in rapid succession. 

Anne cut in before Jane or Katherine could comment, “Yes, Henry, and I don’t know, but I did put wards up, hopefully in time. He was buying rope.” 

“Rope?” Jane questioned. 

“That’s what he uses to tie his victims up,” came Katherine’s voice, a bit quieter and filled with some indistinguishable emotion.   
Anne nodded, for once no words accompanying her nod. She wouldn’t admit it, but dormant fear had ignited in this situation. Her murderer truly was out there and still hunting for her. 

“So you think there will be another one soon?” Aragon asked her face falling into a grim contemplative line, the best she could do without betraying her emotions. Her stomach churned at her own question. She already knew the answer; that was the sad part. 

“Yeah,” Anne nodded, glancing at the Supreme. Wordlessly, Aragon left the kitchen. Any appetite she’d had quickly ceased in the wake of Anne sighting Henry. It wasn’t that he was in London, but one of her girls could be in danger again. Another innocent young witch could die in her jurisdiction. 

By the time Aragon reached her office, her hands shook with a combination of anxiety and frustration and her heart beat wildly. She didn’t need another death or for the girls to see her like this. She was their cool, collected leader. They couldn’t know how Henry’s violence got under her skin and helped her to both feel incompetent and worried at the same time. There’d been so many murders lately in a row, first Katherine, then the unnamed girl, and two weeks before there’d been another. His violence had gotten less spread apart. The now quickly rising body count helped her reach this breaking point. 

She needed to handle this better, and it was clear laying low and waiting for Henry to come to them with an attack while all they did was gather intelligence, wasn’t enough. Her girls weren’t being proactive enough, and neither was she. 

She sat down at her desk and opened the notebook sitting toward the side. The filled pages containing sloping script which entailed information about Henry and his victims. She’d found vague information about his foregin victims and their identification. Katherine and Anne had pages. Then, the pages of his unnamed victims were the saddest. 

Frantically, Catherine began to reread her notes, thoughts swirling. Nothing made sense though, the words she read didn’t register. In a haste, she slammed the notebook and sat back, forcing in a deep breath. ‘No,’ she thought, ‘this won’t help. Breathe.’

Once Catherine’s head stopped spinning in so many different directions and the initial wave of emotions had subsided she opened the notebook again, this time searching for anything she could have missed. Then, she’d come up with something she could do to be proactive. The Supreme losing her head like that wouldn’t aid anything, she knew that. 

The only thing she could do was stay focused on the task at hand and more rapidly work toward a resolution once and for all. Henry was out for blood, their blood, which meant her coven had to be out for his blood too.


	4. Necromancy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aragon hits a mental block and comes up with a plan. Culpeper and Henry have a chat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah here we are, after a long wait unfortunately. This chapter doesn't have any particular TWs I don't think, so enjoy loves!

“Find anything else since we last talked?” Called Aragon as she made her way into the greenhouse with a mug of coffee in her hand, eyes still bleary from sleep.

A sleep deprived, but alert Catherine Parr glanced up to her godmother worriedly, it was abnormal for her to be up this early. She glanced at the clock. It was only eight. Usually Aragon awoke around an hour later, looking much less frazzled. Stray curls stuck out at angles and she still wore her pajamas. 

Catherine frowned then, at the question asked. In reality, she hadn’t been able to uncover anything new, even with the help of the American Supreme. “You’re up earlier than usual,” she nodded, completely avoiding the subject as a whole. 

“Didn’t want to sleep in,” Aragon shrugged, quickly dispelling any further discussion on the topic. Parr nodded, knowing when she didn’t want to broach a topic. 

“What about Henry? I need to know if we have anything new,” An unspoken, ‘I have to do something,’ stayed in her head. Aragon tried again. Since Anne’s sighting the previous night, she’d practically been on hyperdrive. Sleep had been fitful and erratic because all she could do was contemplate possible avenues, and who his next victim might be.

Realistically, it could be anyone in London. The lack of knowledge concerning witches and the secrecy put blinders on most people, including young witches themselves. As a result, Henry’s scope of possible victims had much greater magnitude than she would have liked. 

Finding witches and protecting them would be ideal; however, Catherine knew the semantics of that plan were much more complex in practice. Finding young witches was about as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack, unless of course you were finding their mangled corpses, she thought bitterly to herself. 

Parr observed the other woman, the clipped question’s brittle tone bounced off of her. She could only imagine what it would be like to be in the Supreme’s shoes. As a child, she’d dreamt about the idea of being the Supreme and being trusted to lead, but as she’d grown to understand what the job entailed, she realized she didn’t want that. She wanted to care for her coven, but her decisions couldn’t be the difference between life or death. She understood Catherine’s stress, and if she was honest, everyone in the house now felt it. 

Shockwaves of the harsh reality that Henry was ready to kill, hadn’t settled easily among any of the queens. All of them had known in a certain capacity it was true, but there was something about the casual encounter that reminded everyone of the immanence in the situation. 

“No,” Parr finally answered. “I’ve done just about everything I can, and contacted the Supremes in Spain, France, and Germany. They never linked the killings even. It seems like whoever’s employing him was moving him around or giving him spot kills there, but of course I have no evidence to back that up. It’s purely assumption, and he’s smart. He doesn’t leave a paper trail or physical evidence. If we knew a last name it could be helpful, but even then I'm not sure we’d have anything concrete,” she admitted with a regretful shrug.

“So we’re stuck?” Aragon asked, her mouth falling into a thin line as she wracked her brain for anything helpful. Nothing. Then it hit her, his victims were the key. “Do you think that he’s killed everyone here in the same location? Or at least remotely so,” she added. 

Parr tilted her head, “Probably, he seems consistent in London.”

“Great. That’s all I needed to know,” Aragon nodded, a small smile replacing the frustration, a bit self satisfied with her own idea. “I’ll talk to you later, love, but I think I might have an idea of something we can do.”

Catherine raised an eyebrow in shock but nodded, “See you later then.” Aragon turned to exit the greenhouse and return to her office. First things first, she had to do some research of her own, then she needed to speak to the council. 

She wasn’t sure she had the proper books in her office, Most likely, she’d have to search the attic.. Necromancy as a whole was risky business, and when done wrong, things could go south in the blink of an eye. Of course Aragon was competent enough to perform the type of magic properly, but not without proper research. The last Supreme, her mother, coincidentally, had always had a bit of an interest in the darker aspects of magic and the more ‘forbidden’ things. 

For example, Catherine vividly remembered her mother practicing descensum frequently. She’d later explained she’d only done so in an attempt to understand hell and understand who and what lived down there. Aragon herself had never had much of an interest as a result.

She understood the consequences of failing descensum. One would be trapped in hell and their body would disintegrate. No matter if they beat their personal hell, if they didn’t bring themselves back in time they’d be gone. She hated that her mother ran that risk so often, and for what? As far as Aragon was concerned there were no practical purposes, as understanding hell was futile. 

Catherine’s own experience with descensum had been as she’d expected: hellish. Her hell consisted of the coven disowning her and her being thrown to the streets only to have Henry and his manipulative, vindictive ways waiting for her outside the doors. No one thought she’d make it back in time, and truthfully she’d only just made it back before dawn, panting and panicked she’d bolted up. How did anyone get used to beating their hell and how did anyone do it regularly? The concept baffled her. 

Her mother had fittingly also been interested in learning about necromancy, which granted was a lot less dangerous than casually practicing descensum. It couldn’t directly destroy the caster, but any number of bad outcomes could occur without understanding how to properly control such magic and without knowing exactly whom one was contacting. At one point, Catherine had a mild interest in the basics, but quickly strayed away from it once she began to understand the negative consequences: it could put those she cared about in danger.

Now it seemed she’d have to return to her old interest and ignore the overly analytical and cautious voices in her head that told her necromancy was a bad idea. Upon a small browsing of her office shelves, unsurprisingly, she found nothing of use. With a short sigh of impatience, she turned to traipse her way up the stairs to the attic. 

Upon pushing the door open, she observed Jane’s workspace. Books sat strewn on the table’s surface and pages of notes sat stacked in one corner. Her stones sat atop one open book and a separate sheet of notes sat beside the stones. Part of Aragon felt inclined to see what Jane had been working on, but she stopped, reminding herself that Jane would let her know when the time was right. 

Instead, she made her way toward the dust covered boxes containing her mother’s old books. She went through two boxes before she found what she needed: books on the foundations and extended applications of necromancy. Now that she had the books she could hopefully find what she needed. And once the adequate research was done she could call the council and see if they approved of her plan. Back to her office to read, it seemed.

By the time she finished relaying the cornerstones of her reading and in detail her plan, Anna and Jane each had their own looks of shock and intrigue on their face.

“Do you think that’ll work?” Asked Jane. 

“The magic or the plan?” Anne countered the blonde as if Jane’s question hadn’t been directed at Catherine. She was caught up in the semantics and possible dangers of what Aragon her proposed to even question effectiveness yet. 

Jane glanced at the short haired woman beside her, “I was addressing both actually. Messing with necromancy can be dangerous, and in practice this plan is basically built on assumptions.”

Aragon cut in, “I know the dangers, but we’re at a practical roadblock on learning anything else. We haven’t been able to ID any of his victims easily, and I’ve had Cathy doing some research for me. She’s also been unable to find anything else. If my hunch is right, then this could get us somewhere,” she insisted. 

“But if something were to go horribly wrong, for example, you could contact the wrong spirit, and set something free or be unable to contain it. There’s also physical safety to take into account when you think of this. What if someone happened upon you?”

“I’m planning to take Anne with me. You know she’s not easily scared off by a task, and should something happen she knows how to fight,” Catherine raised a brow. She understood Anna and Jane’s concern, she needed to do something. “As for what we talk to, I should be able to contain it. I’m no novice,” she added with a hint of mirth in an attempt to lighten the mood.

The other two women shared a weary look, ultimately Aragon did have a final say in what she did. They hadn’t had to have been called in, which meant she most likely wanted their support and help ironing out details of the plan. “So, when do you want to leave?” Jane asked after a moment’s silence. She could feel waves of urgency and underlying anxiety radiating off the Supreme potently. 

“I’d like to go tonight. The sooner the better, and around ten. There’s no need to cause more disruption than normal,” she shrugged, a bit relieved the two relented in the doubts at least verbally. When she listened to their thoughts, she could hear the doubts screaming loudly. That was a confidence boost for sure. 

“I’d suggest later. If your location’s right, you could have a chance of running into him if he’s found a victim,” Jane pointed out tilting her head. 

“Go after midnight,” Anna suggested directly after Jane spoke. 

The other two were right, an earlier time was a gamble. Well, in reality, this whole trip was a gamble. She only nodded though, “Brilliant idea.” 

The girls were absolutely correct. This could be fatal, useless, too much of a risk or all of the above. Catherine did her best to suppress the whirling thoughts of what that failure could be though. She had to do something about Henry, and in her mind, knowing the enemy was the first step to beating the enemy. 

If they could gain the upperhand by learning more information about Henry Tudor before he gained more intel on them, they’d have the upperhand. So far, nonmagic routes hadn’t gleaned enough information. If she wasn’t desperate, she wouldn’t push less ‘safe’ options for informational purposes. 

Truth be told, she was still shaken from the night before, and she was waiting on news from Maria that there’d been another victim. Realizing she’d spaced out for a moment, she shook her head in an attempt to play it off, “I’m going to find Anne. Make sure when we’re gone to hold down the fort, yeah?” she joked with a quiet laugh.

“Yes ma’am,” Anna jested back, accompanied by a nod and smile from Jane. With one final nod, Aragon slipped out of her office to search for Anne. The brunette would most likely be in her room or roaming about the house, considering it was nearing dinner. Luck seemed to be on Catherine’s side when she peeked into Anne’s room to see the other with a book open on her bed. 

“Anne?” Catherine called quietly, so as not to startle Anne from her reading. 

The brunette glanced up, her eyes wide for a second, until she recognized Catherine in the doorway. “Hm?” she hummed in response closing the book and pulling herself up. 

“Mind if I come in first of all?” 

“Be my guest,” Anne shrugged with a vague gesture to the room. With a nod, Aragon stepped into the messy room, maneuvering small piles of clothes or the several fallen objects on the floor. “What’s up?” Anne asked as Aragon made her way to sit down at the desk chair. 

“I need a favor,” Aragon started with a deep breath.

“Oh?” Anne leaned forward curiously. 

Simultaneously, in a pub in the city, two men sat at a corner booth. One had an angular jaw and sandy stubble dotting that same jaw. His grim face, contained smile lines only shown in malice. His accomplice sat across from him. This man’s features were polar the first man’s. His dark hair, dark eyes, and complimenting five o’clock shadow contrasted the light blonde man’s features. The similarities though, sat in the stone cold hollow eyes and in the understated intimidation of his muscular stature. 

“You know,” the dark headed man started, “You can’t just keep waiting for them to do something. This wasn’t supposed to take as long as it has. I mean, three years? That’s excessive, even if they’re being wise Henry.” 

The newly named Henry shook his head, “They’ll stop being careful soon enough, and that’s when I’ll catch them.”

“You were supposed to get in and take them out,” the second man persisted. 

“I know, Thomas, but they were smarter than I anticipated!” his nostrils flared in a flash of irritation. “That’s completely on me though, I will admit. I shouldn’t have underestimated them.”

“At least we know what we know, and we have our inside contact, well if that’s what you call her,” Thomas shrugged, appraising his own words. 

“She’s served her purpose, and continues to. She keeps up my wards and gives me information and I don’t kill her,” he shrugged in return as if what he said were the simplest agreement ever. 

“Speaking of which, has she turned up anything new?” Thomas asked in curiosity.

“Katherine Howard, the one from about a week ago is alive. Anne got her out of there apparently.”

The other man’s eyes lit up in recognition, “Howard?”

Henry narrowed his eyes, “Yeah, you know her?”

Quickly, realizing his sudden interest hadn’t been inconspicuous, Thomas forced himself to sit back, “Heard the name before.

An obvious lie, but Henry didn’t care to push it. Instead he pushed forward, “Last night was an easy one. She was young, sixteen, and out too late for her own good. If only the others were as easy. God, it still baffles me that Catherine is the leader, and that Anne is alive. Of course now it all makes sense, knowing Jane’s a healer. If only I’d gotten that much out of her that night. I was so close to nipping the problem in the bud with her,” he shook his head, thinking of the drunken night Jane had begun to divulge the London coven’s secrets. 

“And now you have baggage now. What’ll you do with the son once you deal with everyone else?” Thomas asked. 

“Eh, haven’t really thought about it. There are merits to getting rid of him with his mother or keeping him. We’ll see how everything pans out, then I’ll deal with it all.” In one statement, Henry Tudor had revealed truly how little he cared for life. He cared for manipulation, ease, and power above all else. 

While Thomas definitely was unbothered by murder, the idea of murdering a baby didn’t settle well with him. The kid hadn’t had much of a chance to live. It must have shown on his face because Henry’s face hardened, “You got a problem with that?” he asked carefully, his brow raised. 

Forcing his expression back to neutral, Culpeper shook his head. He had more interest in Katherine Howard, even if murdering an infant didn’t sit well. He wouldn’t have a part of it bothered him so much. All he cared about was seeing Katherine again. 

“Good. Can you go take care of the body from last night sometime tonight?” Henry continued.   
“Always sending me to do your dirty work, eh?” Thomas scoffed. “Yeah, sure.”


	5. The Unquiet Grave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catherine and Anne do some field work and run into a ghost and a not so friendly face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah here we are with an update. My apologies for the wait loves. TWs: violence (not graphic)

“This is slightly insane. I’m kinda shocked it was you who came up with it,” Anne teased as she got out of the car. 

Aragon rolled her eyes, a small amount of fondness behind it. “Well, all the non magical routes were failing us, so why not use magic?” she shrugged, locking the car behind them, and putting her keys into her pocket. 

“I mean, that’s fair, but I didn’t think you of all people would think necromancy, maybe Jane or Cathy, but not you,” she shrugged in return.

“Well I guess I’m full of surprises then, aren’t I?” Aragon raised a brow in Anne’s direction, as if she could see it in the pitch black of night. “Anyway, this is where Katherine was killed, correct?” Anne gave a nod in affirmation. “Maybe he’s as patterned as he is methodical, and maybe some other victims will be here after all,” she mumbled under her breath to herself. 

“Right. We’ll need a bit of light,” Aragon recovered aloud. She started to reach into her pocket to get her phone flashlight, but before she could, Anne held up a hand filled with a small flame, illuminating a small smirk on her face. While the gravity of the situation didn’t escape Anne, she couldn’t help but feel a bit excited at what they were doing. 

It wasn’t often, Catherine or anyone really condoned necromancy or darker magic, so now she was intrigued. She’d get to see how it worked first hand, and maybe they’d make headway with the Henry problem. 

Mingled with Anne’s fear regarding the situation, she also felt the impending sense of urgency as well as anger. This man had tried to hurt the people she called family. He’d succeeded in killing one of her blood relatives. Luckily they’d gotten to Katherine in time, and she wouldn’t imagine what would happen if they hadn’t.   
Aragon glanced at the flame in Anne’s palm letting the hand reaching for her phone fall flat, “Well, I suppose that’ll do, let’s go,” she nodded beginning to trek through the open, desolate field. She let Anne take the lead as they walked. No insects chirped and the air lay flat in the atmosphere. The only audible sound were Anne and Catherine’s gentle footfalls.

The countryside was expected to be quiet, to an extent, but an environment this quiet reeked of something darker. It was as if no living creature dared breathe and break the mist of dread that seemed to cover the field. 

Anne hadn’t noticed it on her first trip, and rightfully so. In those moments, her cousin had been the first thing on her mind. Now with each step she took further into the grass the more a feeling of dread burrowed its way into her bones. The flame in her hand lept in size as her heartbeat sped up and the need to see and understand the dread around her. The unpleasant feeling in her bones could have come from an actual inkling of evil, or the simple human fear of the unknown. Whatever it was, Anne couldn’t shake it or ignore it the more she continued. 

Catherine followed Anne focusing on the blackness ahead, repeating words she’d read across a page in her head. She had to do this right or she could make this worse than she’d imagined. Looking out into the blackness, she was reminded of everything she didn’t know. She had no clue what was out there, who lay dead in the ground (if anything) or if she could pull off this type of magic, after all, she’d never practised it. She shook her head, forcing the nerves down with a sigh. There was no turning back, and certainly no room for doubt. 

“Stop,” she called to Anne. “We can start here. We don’t have a scope of where he’s possibly started killing and burying people, so here’s as good a place as any.”   
Anne rounded on her heel to look back at the Supreme, “What’re you going to do here?” She asked, tilting her head curiously. 

“A detection spell, something along the lines of divination still, but borderlining necromancy,” she explained, hoping her voice came across more confident than she felt. Anne nodded expectantly, observing as Catherine allowed her eyes to fall shut. Her lips moved in an inaudible, whispered, incantation and cautiously she stretched a hand out in front of her. Each spell had a different ‘feel’ to it, when the caster cast it. This one was intimate and pulling, searching, but much to Catherine’s dismay she found nothing but dirt and the usual animal bones and material debris under the ground. 

“Nothing’s here,” Catherine shook her head as she retracted her palm. “Let’s keep moving.” 

Anne nodded, “Yeah, sounds good.” She started off again, letting the air fall silent before she spoke up, “Do you think we’re heading in the right direction?” 

“Honestly?” Catherine raised a brow, contemplating her own answer, “I’m not sure. This could be a dead end in of itself. I did tell you that, but if I had to guess, the further we go, the closer we may get. Either way it’s hit or miss.” There was no point in lying or beating around the bush about the situation. 

 

“Could you hold the detection spell as you walk?”   
“Possibly. I’d considered that, but I don’t know its ins and outs as well as I’d like… if I did, I’d need you to keep an eye on me and guide me physically. If I were to begin to look too tired, you’d have to stop me,” she warned, mulling the possibility over in her head. The thought had occurred before they’d even arrived, but she’d dismissed it for fear of being unalert or draining herself before they actually needed her magic. 

“I could do that,” Anne assured eagerly. Though non vocalised, her will for this ‘mission’ to succeed couldn’t have been any more clear. 

Catherine stopped, standing still and regarding Anne for a few moments before she nodded, “Very well. I’ll try it.” She made her way to stand by Anne and took hold of the hand down by her side so as to have a way to be guided through the dark before she closed her eyes and whispered the latin incantation again. 

Very slowly, once Anne heard the words, she began to walk pulling Catherine along with her, watching out of the corner of her eye. Wearily, the curly headed woman extended a hand as magic flowed through her body searching her surroundings. The minute portion of her brain not occupied with the spell and its findings however inconsequential thus far, couldn’t help but to fear something as simple as what might be waiting for them in the dark, human or inhuman. 

After about ten minutes of silence and walking, Catherine abruptly stopped and opened her eyes as the bitter residue of what used to be humans washed through her body. “Here.” 

Anne had fallen into a steady rhythm leading Catherine and listening into the deafening silence for what hells could await them, so when her companion spoke, she nearly jumped. “You’re sure?”

“Definitely. I couldn’t get a read on how many, but I could recognise it as human, and relatively recently dead,” Catherine confirmed with a nod. 

“So, what’s the next step?” Boleyn asked, an edge of excitement returning to her voice. 

“We summon whoever’s down there,” Catherine said, an unspoken, ‘and we hope for the best,’ lingering in the forefront of her mind. 

Anne nodded, “Do you need me to do anything to help?” 

“Can you keep watch? If anyone comes along at this time of night it certainly won’t be good and we can’t be caught off guard.”

“Course’ And, you got this, Catherine,” Boleyn offered a wink of encouragement. If she were in Catherine’s shoes she’d be nervous messing around with something like this. 

The Supreme only gave a small smile and nod in response before she knelt down to the ground to begin. Anne moved about five feet away so as to give Catherine some space but still enough light to begin. 

With a sigh, she set out to work. She’d read about several methods of summoning spirits and the one that was most in line with the current predicament was the most dangerous. Essentially, she had to ritually use her blood in the summoning spell and draw the spirit back to earth through its remains with her blood as an intermediary of sorts. This tied her to the spell and spirit, and as long as she was in control she’d be fine, but if for some reason she were to lose control she could be injured, or worst case scenario possessed. 

Before she could think too much, she took out a small pocket knife for the blood component and slashed open the palm of her hand. With a wince, she squeezed the hand into a fist and let blood stream down onto the earth and soak into the ground. As this happened, words she’d put hours into memorising perfectly streamed out of her mouth quickly and thankfully without stumble. 

The blood on the ground soaked in as if it hungered for the red, coppery liquid, and in exchange a nearly indiscriminate mist began to rise from the ground and take shape before her. 

Now, standing in front of her, or perhaps floating was a more apt term, was a misty figure of a young woman who couldn’t have been more than eighteen or nineteen. Her hair was cropped around her shoulders and in her spectral state, the most defined colors were the greenish pallor of her skin and the raven black of her hair. 

Catherine slowly stood, taking stock of the situation and the spectre before her. As her eyes swept upward, she got the confirmation she needed that this was one of Henry’s victims when she saw the thick raised scar on her neck. So, he’d been careless with her. When she met the girl’s tired, milky white eyes, she only saw a bone deep exhaustion. Before she could speak, the girl spoke up, “What do you want?” Her voice was hollow and brittle from death and disuse. 

“I-” Catherine started, then she fell short, realising how selfish she was going to sound disturbing this girl from her rest. 

“What?” Asked the ghost again.

“I’m so sorry to have disturbed you, but I need to talk to you.” It was a weak explanation. 

The ghost raised an eyebrow, “How’d you know that? You don’t know me and I don’t know you.” 

“I know who your killer is,” Catherine said with a sigh. Henry was her only leverage. This made the girl go silent. Then, her face contorted. 

“How’d you know I have a killer?”

“I can see your neck love, and you’re buried in the middle of nowhere in a field.”

“So, you know him?” She asked accusingly.

“Not as you might think,” Catherine shook her head, forcing herself to not to take a step back. “He’s been trying to kill my girls, and killing numerous women of our kind. I don’t know how much you knew before he killed you, but you were a witch.”

The ghost shifted uncomfortably, her defensive facial features betraying her fear, “I kinda guessed that in the last year, didn’t know what to do… your girls?” she questioned looking back up at Catherine. 

“Yes. I’m the Supreme, the leader of the London coven.”

“Coven?” Her eyes widened.

“Yes, not many know we exist because of people like Henry, your killer, that’s what makes it hard to find, teach and protect young witches. I’m Catherine, by the way,” she added with a small smile in an attempt to ease the ghost’s wariness. 

“I’m Florence… and I do know that’s his name,” she shrugged unable to meet Catherine’s eyes. 

“Can you tell me what you do know, and what happened to you?” she pried gently. Florence was by no means dangerous, but she was flighty and Catherine knew if she asked the wrong thing, things could go south. 

Florence let out a quiet sigh. She pretty much had no choice. Catherine’s spell held her here, and she had no idea what it could do. With a quick nod, she began to speak, “I was at a gig one night. I was a musician, a good one too,” she added a bit bitterly, “and he was there with a buddy of his, someone named Thomas. They chatted with me all night after, said they liked my music. I thought it was harmless enough. I guess I was just desperate enough to meet some genuinely nice people.”

“By the time I said my goodbyes, it was about one in the morning, and they followed me. They followed me and didn’t stop even when I asked. That’s when they attacked and I woke up in this field, my hands tied around a stake and then it was lights out,” her voice faded sadly as she recounted her last moments. “I was eighteen,” she added before she could stop herself. 

Catherine’s heart shattered hearing Florence’s story and the true cruelty of Henry and his accomplice who was apparently named Thomas. “Dear-” Before she could complete her statement Anne, who’d been keeping watch as promised turned. 

“Catherine, someone’s headed this way, now,” she said, her face paler than usual. Catherine glanced at Anne and then their surroundings in an attempt to make out whatever it was that was coming their way. It was then that the Supreme herself could vaguely hear heavy footfalls close by. 

She glanced back at Florence, “Thank you,” she nodded before whispering the incantation that ended the spell and severed her ties with the ghost. She hated having to be so disrespectful and abandon the girl so quickly, but whatever was coming their way couldn’t be good. 

Catherine made the quick journey to stand beside Anne, “Put out the light, and we need to move away from the sound,” she said quietly. 

Silently, Anne did as she said, allowing Catherine to guide her through the dark as she saw fit. The downside to this all, was that they were in a field. Grass meant no cover. 

Seconds later, the footfalls neared and a flashlight beam pierced the night. At the end of it, the duo could make out a muscular dark haired man who with one hand, dragged something. 

Catherine furrowed her brow, attempting to make out what this man could be dragging. He stopped about twenty feet short of where the duo stood and luckily stayed with his back facing them. He set the flashlight down on the ground and took a rather large, camping backpack off of his back only to pull out a spade. 

Then, he began to dig. In that moment, it hit Catherine. He was digging a grave, and what he was dragging was a body. She froze. This had to be Thomas doing Henry’s dirty work, and a part of Catherine wanted to take care of him right then and there, but she also had no idea what sort of tricks could be up his sleeve.   
She leaned over to Anne, “You know what he’s doing right?” she hissed as low as possible. 

“Yeah. Who is he?”

“Think he’s one of Henry’s accomplices, Thomas. I say we follow him when he’s done here.” If they followed him then they could maybe glean a bit more information and if he did see them, he wouldn’t have whatever he had in his pack at his disposal. 

Watching Thomas dig the shallow grave and carelessly dump the body of the girl in it pained both witches watching, and incensed them. How could he have so little value for someone’s life or be so mindless that he would aid and abet a monster like Henry Tudor. There was no doubt in Catherine’s mind by the end of this twisted funeral that this was the Thomas Florence had spoken of. 

Once he started to head away from the grave site, Catherine pulled gently one Anne’s arm indicating they should go. The brunette clung to the other’s arm so as to stay close as they walked following about fifteen feet behind, barely daring to breathe for fear of discovery. 

It almost seemed too easy. As they neared the edge of the field, Thomas stopped and pulled out his cellphone. Seconds after the man held it to his ear, the unmistakable voice of Henry Tudor boomed through the all too silent field, “Culpeper! I suppose it’s done!” 

Thomas Culpeper. That was his full name. He let out a laugh spinning on his heel gleefully, “Yeah I-” It was then his flashlight beam caught Catherine and Anne in the radius. “I have to go take care of something.”

The minute they were discovered, every bone in Anne’s body screamed for her to transmutate away, but Catherine didn’t move. Her mind whirled with possibilities until she settled on a course of action. 

Culpeper neared all the while, his hand reaching back toward his pack, for God knows what. “Anne, on my count, we light him on fire,” she said as evenly as she could. “He’s not prepared for it, then as soon as he’s burning we transmutate out and back to our car and we head back to the house.” 

Anne glanced at Catherine, surprised at the decision, but she didn’t disagree. She simply nodded, waiting for the go. 

“Three, two, now,” Catherine hissed flicking her wrist down by her side as the resultant plume of flame began to travel up Culpeper’s side. In a fraction of a second, a similar flame encompassed him starting from the back of his neck. Simultaneously, the duo glanced at each other and with a simple thought, were whisked up for a moment, only to be brought back down by their car. 

It was then Catherine allowed the anxiety of the situation to run its course, she slouched back against the door. They’d almost been caught by one of his accomplices, who’d lucklily been unprepared, but nonetheless, if they’d been unprepared, they could be dead. And to think, she thought necromancy had been the original source of worry. 

Anne too slouched back against the car beside Aragon. She’d been close it felt like, to losing big time. It was all so real. It wasn’t just a hypothetical game anymore. They’d probably just killed a man in a life or death situation, but the killing wasn’t what Anne was hung up on. In her eyes, Culpeper had it coming. She was stuck on the true gravity of it all. They could have transmutated to begin with, but that would only belabor the situation. Running could only get them so far, and they’d finally made a move, a bold move. It was Henry’s move now.


End file.
